Louise Saberton Lykes Ferguson

Died peacefully at her home on October 5, 2016. She was 104 years old. She was born May 28, 1912, to Clara Estelle Long and Howell Tyson Lykes Jr. in Tampa. She was predeceased by her parents, her husband, Chester Howell Ferguson, her brother, Howell Tyson Lykes III, and her sister, Jean Lykes Rankin Kendrick. She is survived by her daughter, Stella Ferguson Thayer and husband, A. Bronson Thayer; her son, Howell Lykes Ferguson and wife, Sharon Maxwell-Ferguson; granddaughters, Susannah Louise Thayer and Megan Ferguson Evers-Swindell and husband, Nico Evers-Swindell; grandsons, Derek Chester Ferguson and Eliot Lykes Ferguson; great-granddaughters, Beatrix Estelle Evers-Swindell and Kate Frances Ferguson; great-grandson, Owen Wiley Ferguson; step-grandchildren, Heather Savage Telfer and husband, Robert J. Telfer III, and Colin Maxwell Savage and wife, Aimee Burgert Savage; step-great grandchildren, Max and Lilly Telfer, and Acacia, Claudia, and James Savage; special nieces and nephew, Louise Rankin Barrow and husband, Alston McConnell Barrow, Jean Rankin Burn and husband, Harry Burn, and Tom L. Rankin and wife, Kay H. Rankin; and great-nephews and nieces, Alston Barrow, Bennett Barrow, Jeannie Pisano, Lindsay Grimes, Britton Horne, Duncan Burn, Catherine Robinson, and Thompson Rankin. She is also survived by numerous cousins of the Lykes family who were a source of pride and affection. Louise Ferguson attended local schools: Miss White's English Classical School, Wilson Junior High School, and was a member of the first freshman class of Plant High School in 1927, which culminated with her being named valedictorian of the 1930 graduating class. After high school, she attended Pine Manor Junior College in Wellesley, MA, from which she graduated in 1932, once again as valedictorian. In the summer of 1932, she attended classes at the University of Paris (Sorbonne). She married Chester Ferguson, an attorney, on December 2, 1939 and shared a full and loving life until his death in 1983. Louise was a former member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Tampa and a founding member of the Chiselers. She served on the Tampa Arts Council for eight years, a number of years as chair, and was recognized for her continuous service to the arts when she received the Governor's Award for the Arts in 1976.