Dorothy Ferguson

Dorothy Ann Kleeberger Bast Ferguson was born January 16, 1926, into the hardscrabble family of Arthur Ray and Minnie Elizabeth Outcult Kleeberger of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her birthday was always celebrated on the 18th until very late in life the error was discovered on her birth certificate. As a small child she contracted Scarlet Fever which left her deaf in one ear. The Kleeberger family was large and of meager means, so she was offered up for adoption and entered the home of the childless couple George and Mildred Brady Bast. In that time adoption was accomplished by a simple handwritten agreement and birth certificate. Dr. Bast and his wife tired of the northern winters and moved south to Sulphur Springs, Arkansas, where he set up his medical practice and shortly thereafter moved to the larger city of Siloam Springs where Mildred died in 1937, and George married her younger sister Edythe Brady. Dorothy, along with her future husband, Van, were members of the 1944 graduating class of Siloam Springs High School and the 1948 graduating class of John Brown University where Dorothy became the personal secretary of Mr. Brown and sang alto in the school’s ensemble, “The Triple Trio.” Van and Dorothy were married September 7, 1949, in Los Angeles, California. Van was drafted into the Korean War, and the couple lived in Oceanside, California next to Camp Pendleton where Van served in the Marine Corps in stateside radio communications. After the war the couple returned to Siloam Springs where Dorothy gave birth to son Bradford in 1954. Van decided to pursue dentistry, and the family of three moved to Kansas City where son Rodney was born in 1957. The Fergusons settled in Kansas City and Dorothy taught mainly Fourth Grade at Merriam School in Merriam, Kansas, for over 20 years. Upon retirement, Van and Dorothy travelled the world and as they aged made the decision to relocate to Go Ye Village, a retirement community in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. There they resided for 14 years until Dorothy began to show signs of dementia. Van and Dorothy moved to Topeka to be near son Rodney and wife Sue. Van died April 26, 2023, and Dorothy on August 12, 2025. They are interred in Highland Cemetery, Junction City, Kansas. She is safe in the arms of the Savior. Dorothy was preceded in death by her natural and adopted parents and husband of 73 years. She is survived by her sons, Bradford (Katherine) of Oklahoma City and Rodney (Sue) of Topeka; grandchildren, Byron of Topeka, Marshall (Brandie) of Colorado Springs, Beau of Eudora, Martin of Tulsa and Molly (Kevin) Williams of Colorado Springs; six great-grandchildren and many, many friends. Condolences may be sent online to www.kevinbrennanfamily.com

Dorothy Ferguson

January 16, 1926 - August 12, 2025