Barbara Ferguson, 82, of Midland, finished her battle with cancer and ran into the arms of her Savior on April 8, 2024. She is now rejoicing with the Lord on streets of gold with her son, Daniel.
Barbara was born December 27, 1941, in Gorman, Texas, to Ralph and Leona Ball. She attended Breckenridge High School and was active at Bethany Baptist Church where she met her husband, Guinn Ferguson. They married in Breckenridge on January 21, 1961. She was a homemaker, but she also babysat children after school for many years. In 1972, Guinn, Barbara, and their three children began attending Bellview Baptist Church. They were active volunteers with the youth group and Sunday School.
In 1995, their son, Daniel, was in a car accident that left him with a brain injury causing him to be a quadriplegic and unable to speak or eat. Barbara took over his care for him at home and faithfully cared for Daniel’s every need until his death in 2021. Her love for Daniel through caring for him and his unwavering joy through it all were a constant and continuous testimony to the glory of the Lord. Barbara, Guinn, and Daniel’s continuous faith was evident in everything they did.
Beginning in the late 2000s, Barbara started packing shoeboxes at Bellview for Operation Christmas Child through Samaritan’s Purse. This was just one more way that Barbara loved to share the glory of the Lord. She packed shoeboxes for many years before she joined leadership by serving in Church Relations where she would speak at local churches and businesses about the mission of Operation Christmas Child. She continued to serve in leadership and received her 10-year pin of service only months before her passing.
For every shoebox that is received, it is said that 10 people will experience the Gospel. This means that between the shoeboxes she packed and the ones she prayed over, she played a role in thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people who were able to experience the Gospel. She frequently shopped for deals at Dollar General to find items to pack inside these shoeboxes. I’m certain that every cashier in the Midland area knew Barbara and knew about Operation Christmas Child. She never failed to tell every person she met about the mission of Operation Christmas Child and what the ministry meant to her. She took every encounter as an opportunity to share the Gospel.
In addition to all of this, Barbara was the kind of person who always helped the people around her, whether she knew them or not. Once you met Barbara, you would walk away knowing that she was in your corner whether you were a stranger, friend, or family. She would go out of her way to help the people around her in any way she could. That is who Barbara was. She loved people like Jesus and wanted to share the love of Jesus with them. Her love for the Lord was evident in everything that she did.
Barbara is survived by her husband of 63 years, Guinn Ferguson of Midland; daughter, Janess Smith and her husband, Randy, of Little Rock, Arkansas; son, Mark Ferguson and his wife, Christine, of Little Rock, Arkansas; her grandchildren, Madeleine, Renner (wife Lacey), and Keller Smith and Mackenzie, Zoe, and Avery Ferguson, all of Little Rock, Arkansas; adopted family, Keith and Marilyn Waldrop, Keilyn Waldrop, Amanda Arpe, and Brecken Arpe, all of Midland; and many other friends too numerous to count who are considered family.
Barbara’s loss will be felt throughout the city of Midland and beyond throughout her many forms of outreach and ministry. We will forever miss the sparkle in her eyes and bright smile, but we know that she is now at peace and fully healed. We will see her again one day and what a glorious day that will be.
*All obituaries are submitted by family and friends of the deceased.
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