William Clay Ferguson

Dr. William Clay Ferguson, 80, passed away at his home in Clemmons on October 3rd.

Clay was born on August 9, 1934, in Waynesville, NC, to James Vernon Ferguson & Lelia Ramey Ferguson. He was raised by his maternal grandparents, Frank and Nellie Ramey.

Clay graduated from L.H. Edwards High School in Asheville, NC. He received an Associate of Arts Degree from Mars Hill College in 1952 and then obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1956, and in 1960 received his M.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Medical School. His rotating internship at Grady Memorial Hospital and Emory University was from 1960-1961. Clay served as a Captain in the United States Air Force at Laughlin Air Force Base Strategic Air Command in Del Rio, Texas from 1961-1963. His General Surgery Residency was from 1963-1967, and his Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgical Fellowship was at Bowman Gray School of Medicine at Baptist Hospital in Winston Salem, NC from 1967-1969. From 1969-1970 Clay was in private practice at Charlotte Memorial Hospital, Presbyterian Hospital, and Mercy Hospital and from 1970-2000 he was in private practice in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in General, Thoracic, Vascular, Trauma, and Hand Surgery at Forsyth Medical Center and Medical Park Hospital. After retiring from private practice, he served at the Community Care Free Clinic in Walkertown, NC performing minor surgeries from 2009 to 2014. Since 2002 he had great joy in teaching Bible Fellowship for the senior men's class at Calvary Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, NC.

Clay was married on December 10, 1960, to Sarah Thomas Salmon, and they enjoyed 42 years of marriage. His wife Sarah died in 2002, and he was also preceded in death by both his parents, his stepfather Lawrence Samuel Tipton, his in-laws, John Timothy and Elizabeth Bynum Salmon, his son, William Clay Ferguson II, his sister Edna Pauline Sprinkle, his niece Kathy Sprinkle, and his brother-in-law Farrell Smith.

He is survived by his daughters, Sabrina Secrest, Heidi McNeal (David), Sonya Valerie Ferguson-Brown (John), Scarlett Ferguson, and his daughter-in-law Kendall Ferguson, and by his son, Frank Ferguson (Mary), his sister Evelyn White (Dick) of Asheville, NC, his brother-in-law Bill Sprinkle of High Point, and his brother Stephen Tipton (Carol) of Indiana, his sister-in-law Martha Cox (Gene) of Greensboro, NC, and his sister-in-law Ellie Smith of Sanford, NC.

His grandchildren are Sarah Elizabeth Thomas, Lydia Ruth Secrest, John Caleb Secrest, McKenzie Taylor Ferguson, William Clay Ferguson III, Sierra Grace Ferguson-Brown, Ashley Michelle Ferguson and Zachary Luke Ferguson. His great-grandchildren are Dylan Stephan Thomas and Jackson Gray Thomas.

When Dr. Ferguson was a small child he had the nickname of ‘Corky'. His family called him Bill, but his friends and colleagues knew him as Clay. When he became a grandparent, he was simply called Papa by everyone in the family. His faith in his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has been an inspiration to his children, grandchildren, patients, students, and friends. He has honored the Lord with his life and been a blessing to all who have known him.

The family will receive friends from 6:00 to 8:00 pm on Monday, October 6, 2104 at Hayworth Miller Funeral Home on Silas Creek in Winston-Salem. The funeral service will be held at Calvary Baptist Church on Tuesday afternoon, October 7, 2014, at 1:30.
Memorials can be made to the Medical Missions Ministry at Calvary Baptist Church, 5000 Country Club Road Winston Salem, NC 27104.

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