Mary Virginia Robins Ferguson

Mary Virginia Robins Ferguson, of Boxley, Ark., died Thursday, May 8, in Conway, Ark., from complications of a stroke suffered in late March. Mary Virginia was born March 20, 1927, in Conway, Ark., to Frank E. Robins Jr., and Virginia Warren Robins. She is survived by her husband of 67 years, Hubert L. Ferguson of Boxley, Ark.; her two sons, John (Gloria) and Bill Ferguson of Conway, Ark.; her daughter, Francie Bolter (Brian) of Mayflower, Ark.; and 17 grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Her parents; and her brother, Frank E. Robins III, preceded her in death. Mary Virginia loved history and had a wonderful memory for names and dates. Born into a newspaper family—her grandfather was the publisher of the Log Cabin Democrat at the time of her birth—"Arney" began her love affair with history, absorbing the people, places and events of Conway as they were reported in the daily newspaper. She retained a wealth of information about her hometown, including its recovery from the Great Depression, its experience of World War II, and its accelerated growth in the post-war years. Her family both enjoyed and relied on her wonderful memory for facts and details. "Ask Mama--she'll know" was a phrase her family uttered countless times. Mary Virginia's love of history influenced her educational pursuits. She attended Hendrix College, Randolph Macon College for Women, and Arkansas State Teacher's College and received her undergraduate degree in History from George Washington University. Upon completing a Master's in History from State College of Arkansas (now UCA) in 1968, she began teaching American History and American Government at Conway High School, where she taught for a decade. MV was an early political activist as well as a proponent of historic preservation. She was an early member of the Conway League of Women Voters and was asked to join the Committee of 100, a state-wide women's group formed in 1974 to support the newly established Ozark Folk Center. She was a member and officer of the Faulkner County Historical Society and played an important role in the establishment of the Faulkner County Museum. Inspired by her mother who was a passionate gardener and her father, an avid fisherman, Mary Virginia grew up loving the outdoors. She attended Camp Kiwanis as a Girl Scout and later became a counselor there. She encouraged all three of her children to participate in scouting, and at various times she was a Cub Scout, Brownie Scout, and Girl Scout troop leader. She conceived of and directed a Girl Scout Day Camp on Cove Creek in northern Faulkner County for several summers, served on the board of the Ouachita Girl Scout Council, and was president of this Council for two terms. Before "environmentalism" became a household word, Mary Virginia was an activist for respecting the natural world. She was an avid birdwatcher and an early member of the Arkansas Audubon Society; she obtained a license to band birds, an activity which produced important data about bird distribution. Mary Virginia credited Harold Alexander, of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, and Ruth Thomas, a columnist for the Arkansas Gazette, with heightening her concern for the environment. The Arkansas Council of Garden Clubs of which she was a member became the first statewide organization to publicly petition to cease damning Arkansas streams and drowning rivers with deep impoundments. In 1971, MV rode the "Jubilee Bus" to Washington, D.C., with her son John and other Ozark society members where she testified before Congress in support of designating the Buffalo River as America's first national river. Mary Virginia loved canoeing, camping, and hiking with family and friends. She hiked notable canyons in Utah, rafted many western rivers, and hiked the Grand Canyon rim to rim to rim. A goal she cherished was that she had hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon at various times with each of her children and grandchildren. She and Hubert participated in Earthwatch trips to Utah, Australia, and Costa Rica and enjoyed many memorable birding trips in Central America, Africa, and India. In 1980, Mary Virginia and Hubert achieved the dream of passing on the family printing business to their sons and purchased a farm in the Boxley valley of Newton County, Ark., through which the Buffalo River runs. This chapter of her life allowed her a deep enjoyment of her values: living a life tied to the rhythms of the natural world, connecting with the folkways of the Ozarks, enjoying the bounty of their farm and garden, and being a faithful steward of the natural environment. A memorial service will be held Tuesday, May 13, at 2 p.m. at the amphitheatre located next to the Ferguson Chapel at UCA. The service will be moved to the chapel in case of rain. A gathering of remembrance will be held Saturday, May 24, at 11 a.m. at the Scroggins-Villines house in Boxley, Ark. Memorial opportunities include the Ferguson-Robins Honors College Scholarship at the University of Central Arkansas or the Halberg Ecology Camp of the Arkansas Audubon Society. Online guest book: www.rollerfuneralhomes.com.