David Ferguson

David (Dave) Ferguson has been a part of the Episcopal church since marrying into it 30+ years ago. He visited Trinity on his first Sunday in Portland. Falling in love with the music and contemplative sermons right away, he called Beth and said he knew she’d miss St James in Utah but would love our new church home.

David enrolled in Catechesis his first year at Trinity and served as a Catechesis mentor last year. He has been an usher/host for many years now and is looking forward to bringing his skills, compassion and care for others to the Vestry team as we continue to work and grow together in worship and service to the community.

David grew up in Youngstown, Ohio. His father and grandfather worked for one of the main steel mills and his mother was a teacher. While growing up it dawned on him that he wasn’t meant to stay there. Living near the I-80 highway and seeing the road signs pointing east to New York City made him wonder about the world from a young age. A high school trip to Germany in ’84 with a stop in West Berlin and side trip through the Wall to East Berlin was another seminal point in his life. It was his first time thinking about people being separated from each other and the sense of wrongness of it.

David went to West Point for college where he met Beth during senior year when she was visiting from Syracuse U. as part of a multi-university political science event. They married after graduation and began a series of moves living and working in Oklahoma, two cities in Germany and Colorado Springs through David’s military career. Their oldest daughter was born in Aschaffenburg, Germany and their youngest in Colorado.

After leaving the Army, David joined General Electric and worked for their healthcare division for 27 years living in Maryland, Utah and finally moving to Portland in 2017. As a business leader of teams ranging from 6 to 600, he developed his financial and operational skills. Leaving GE in ‘23, but still desiring to give back to the military community, David now works for the small organization within the Dept of Veterans Affairs that runs the National Cemeteries. His office is at Willamette National Cemetery on the east side of Portland.