Shelby D. Ferguson

Shelby D. Ferguson, 94, of North Belle Vernon, went to be with the Lord on Wednesday, April 18, 2018 in his home surrounded by his family. A son of the late Malcolm and Virginia Dent Ferguson, he was born in Belle Vernon on November 21, 1923. A lifelong resident of Belle Vernon, he was a member of the First United Methodist Church, the Tri-County F.& A.M. Lodge 252, the Westmoreland, Indiana and Armstrong Counties Funeral Directors Association, the Pennsylvania Funeral Directors Association and the National Funeral Directors Association. He was also a Life Member of the North Belle Vernon Volunteer Fire Department. After graduating from Penn State University and the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science, he went into the funeral business, first in Monessen in 1948, and then purchased his own funeral home in North Belle Vernon in 1956. He operated there until his retirement in 2001, selling the business to his son, Shelby. Survivors include his wife of 40 years, Jean Schneider Ferguson, three daughters and two sons-in-law, Lynn and Robert Nattress of Shavertown, PA, Claire Joseph of Charlotte, NC, and Carol and Gary Davis of Fairfax, VA, two sons and daughters-in-law, Mark and Natasha Ferguson, and Shelby and Susan Ferguson, all of Belle Vernon, six grandchildren, Heather Suggitt of Houston, TX, Chris Nattress of Vail, CO, Laura Gilchrist, and her husband, Tom, of Pleasant Hills, Adam Ferguson of Belle Vernon, Karlee Ferguson, who followed in her grandfather and father's footsteps as a licensed funeral director, of Belle Vernon, and Ethan Davis of Fairfax, VA and three great-grandchildren, Skylar Suggitt, Ray Gilchrist and Rosie Gilchrist. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by the mother of his children, Ruth Laird Ferguson on July 12, 1976, a sister, Jean Melenyzer and a brother, Malcolm Ferguson.