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Obituary
Mrs Carole Ferguson ~ an appreciation
Sarah,
Neil, Paul and I would like to thank all our many friends in
the Sheltie and Rough Collie world who sent us messages of sympathy
and support following the sudden and tragic loss of Carole.
Devastated is the only description which can come anywhere near
the way we feel - the shock, disbelief and loneliness are beyond
any measure. Friends have been so wonderful in looking after
us - I am more grateful than I can possibly say, since I know
they will be there, whatever.
We were all greatly comforted by the huge attendance at the
funeral service - it was nothing less than Carole deserved and
we felt such a mixture of emotions at the sight of so many friends,
some having travelled great distances, to be there for her.
In putting the service together, Sarah and I worked very clearly
with what Carole had always instilled in both of us - words
that governed every aspect of our lives together, that what
ever we did it had to be ‘right’. We knew that there
were many facets to Carole’s life and we hoped that people
who had grown to love her in all of them would be present to
honour her - the celebration was thus intended to let everyone
present have a sense of the of some of the other parts that
they might not have encountered for themselves.
We were all very supported by Neil’s recollections of her
early life and his obvious pride in her success in breeding
Ch. Mountmoor Jeanie McCall and the absolute determination which
had always driven her. Thomas von Steggman, former Chief Executive
of Bayer Agrochemicals for whom Carole worked for 30 years,
most recently as their highly successful Press and Public Relations
Manager, spoke of her energy, strength and determination in
fulfilling a major role in the company in which she will be
irreplaceable.
We were all touched by the heartfelt way in which Margaret Norman
outlined the development of Carole’s contribution to the
sheltie world from their first meeting over 30 years ago, the
success of Jeanie and Ch. Mountmoor Blue Boy, Bobby, to her
judging of dogs at Crufts last year.
In preparing our tributes, Sarah and I were very conscious of
the difficulty of what we wanted to say and what we would be
able to say - the strength to speak came from Carole herself
- Sarah’s tribute to her mother was loving, genuine, strong
and had so many echoes of Carole that it touched all who heard
Sarah.
In 56 years, Carole lived enough lives for at least 12 people
- she has endowed us all with a love of the breed, a clear understanding
of what the breed standard calls for and, most importantly,
that we should all show INTEGRITY at all times in any thing
we all do with the breed.
Carole was selfless with a generosity of spirit, absolutely
honest, had dynamic energy, wicked sense of fun, passionate
love of the natural world and the ability to philosophise on
any subject at all. Her love of the dogs was absolute and infectious.
Through the years she taught me so much - about life, enjoyment,
thought, caring, support and teamwork - it sounds so odd to
try to distil life under simple headings - we became a wonderful
team - it was not always straight forward, but I was never in
any doubt what she thought at any time, about any thing. Our
life was full to overflowing -”It’s manic here!”
There are so many memories of Carole - we each have so many
of our own - she had the ability to make each and every one
of us feel ‘special’. We loved her dearly and can
only bear the emptiness by holding onto the memories.
Liz Ford & Sarah Ferguson
Mountmoor Shetland Sheepdogs
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