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FERGUSON -- Thomas Robert Ferguson was born in Roswell, NM on September 18, 1937. His parents were Thomas Harold Ferguson from Poteau, OK and Wanda Maurine Wolf from Roswell, NM. He was preceded in death by his brother, John Benjamin Ferguson in 2001. He is survived by his sister, Patricia Meleski Heydt; and six nieces and nephews, Rico, Corin and husband, John Wood, Mike, Steve and wife, Karen, Nick and wife, Mona, Melanie and husband, Donald Trujillo. He was also close with his grand-nieces and grand-nephews; two great-grand-nieces; and his extensive family in Canada. Tom graduated with honors from Roswell Senior High in 1955. He graduated with honors in Physics from NMSU in 1959, and attended graduate school for three semesters. Over the next eight years, he worked for defense contractors and the federal government, and served in the U.S. Army at WSMR for two years. He returned to graduate school in 1969, earning his Masters degree and Ph.D. in Physics from UNM. His dissertation investigated the properties of ring molecules related to the deoxyribose portion of DNA. He retired from his scientific career in 1995 after working in laser research for the Air Force Research Laboratory at KAFB, NM. He published a series of scientific papers over the years, including many in the field of laser resonators. Tom had varied interests. He enjoyed puzzles and games, especially bridge and billiards. He was an avid hiker for nearly forty years, leading many hikes for the New Mexico Mountain Club. He ran a marathon at age 41, and ran the La Luz race to the Sandia Crest. He dabbled in painting, wood sculpture, and other artistic pastimes. In his last decade he took up wildflower identification, and spent many hours in the mountains and desert learning about and identifying plants. He is co-author of the wildflower section of the book Field Guide to the Sandia Mountains, published by UNM Press in 2005. He is credited for collecting and reporting the species Mitella pentandra for the first time in New Mexico. Memorial donations can be made to The Thomas R. Ferguson/NMSU Herbarium Internship Endowment, at P.O. Box 3590, Las Cruces NM 88003. A Celebration of Life will be held on May 21, 2006 at 3:00 p.m. at 1129 Forest Road NW, Albuquerque, NM 87114. Sunrise Funeral Options 7601 Wyoming Blvd. NE Albuquerque, NM 87109 (505) 821-0010
        Published on: Sun May 14, 2006