Richard "Rick" Ernest Ferguson

Funeral services for Rick Ferguson, 61, of Portales, will be held at 10:00 AM, Sat., Jan 16, 2021 at the Third and Kilgore Church of Christ with Rev. Wesley McAfee officiating.  Burial will follow in the Portales Cemetery with Jimmy Paxton, Jeff Welch, Tom Elwell, Alvin Elvik, Eldon Merrick and Lance Knight serving as pallbearers.  Christopher Miller, Shaun Miller, Garrett Knight, Cooper Smith, James Turner, Bubby Welch, Bill Morris and Andrew Puebla along all of his Truck Driving Friends will be honorary pallbearers.

Richard Ernest Ferguson, known to virtually everyone as “Rick,” was born Feb. 4, 1959 in Shields, IL to the home of Dee (Hamather) and Ray Ferguson, and died Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021 in Albuquerque, NM.  Rick always left on the truck on Saturday, and that was the day the Lord took him home.  Rick was a lifelong resident of Portales, graduating from Portales High School in 1977.  After graduation, he worked at various mechanical jobs, following in his father’s footsteps.  Trucking soon became his life.  For the past many years, he drove for Welch’s Trucking Co.

On Oct 6, 1987 in Portales, he was married to Evonne Grimes.  Together, they attended Faith Christian Family Church.  Rick was very mechanically minded, and enjoyed working on engines.  He liked to go hunting and fishing, and had made a special fishing trip to the Gulf of Mexico to go deep sea fishing with his dad and his son.

Rick had a huge heart, and was full of laughter and was always cracking jokes.  He had a quick wit and a fast response to go with it.  Rick was a dedicated father to each of his kids.  He would travel thirteen hundred miles to get home, just to go another two hundred miles to see his kids and grandkids.  He was a permanent fixture in his family, always there for the tough times and the fun times.  His greatest joy was spending time with his beloved family.

He is survived by Evonne, his wife of 33 years of their home;  a son, Christopher Miller of Clovis; four daughters and a son-in-law, Amy Miller and Holly and Garrett Knight of Lubbock, and Kayley Ferguson and Chantel Ferguson of Portales; six grandchildren, Shaun Miller and his companion, Megan Jara, Alexia Knight, Lexie Miller, Lance Knight, Autumn Knight and Cooper Smith; a great-granddaughter, Penelope Rae Miller; a sister, Deanne (Eldon) McAfee of Portales; a sister-in-law, Melody (Orlando) Ortega of Portales; a niece Andrea (Patrick) Conlan; and two nephews, Ethan Ortega and Bobby Rodich.  He was preceded in death by his parents, Dee and Ray Ferguson, his maternal grandparents, Percy and Mary Belle Hamather, his paternal grandparents, E. L. and Lou Ella Ferguson, a sister, Debra Lou Ferguson, and a sister-in-law, Treva Grimes.

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