Nederland officials remember city clerk Gay Ferguson, who died Friday – Beaumont Enterprise

Ferguson died in a fatal car crash on Friday night in Louisiana’s Jefferson Davis Parish. She was 61.

“I sat by her at city council. My spot’s right next to hers… It’s going to be kind of an empty feeling next Monday when we have our next city council meeting without her there,” said Ward III City Council member Randy Sonnier. “Just a pleasure to be with. Just her work ethic, it was pretty contagious. I think others around city hall tried to improve their work performance based on what Gay did.”

The crash happened on Interstate 10 just outside Lacassine, Louisiana, about 50 miles east of the Texas-Louisiana state line. 

Chris Duque, Nederland’s City Manager, said Ferguson was driving back to Orange, where she lived, after picking up her grandson when the crash occurred.

According to Louisiana State Police, the driver of a 2011 Ford F-150 pickup truck on eastbound Interstate 10 lost control of the vehicle, went through the median and went over cable barriers before entering the westbound lane. That vehicle struck Ferguson’s, a 2018 Ford Edge SUV, head-on. Ferguson died on the scene, and a 3-year-old child, whom Duque said was Ferguson’s grandson, in her vehicle was taken to a hospital near Lake Charles after sustaining serious injuries in the crash.

Duque said the last update he heard was that Ferguson’s grandson was discharged from the hospital.

“Mrs. Ferguson cared deeply about Nederland, the Mid-County area, her family, and her friends; she considered every city employee as her friends and part of her family. Mrs. Ferguson was an exceptional public servant and an outstanding colleague. She was respected and loved by her peers; she was a constant positive light and will be greatly missed,” said a news release from the city of Nederland.

Trooper Derek Senegal, with Louisiana State Police, told the Enterprise the driver of the truck suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Senegal’s also waiting for toxicology report results, which could take up to 30 days, and determining whether speed may have been a factor or if the pickup’s driver could face criminal charges, he said.

Ferguson worked for the city of Orange prior to arriving in Nederland back in 2010.

“She was a very easy person to talk to. She was at city hall before I got there. She was very helpful though when I was trying to apply for city council, explaining how the process works and all,” said Nederland Ward II Council member Sylvia Root. “She was always willing to help anybody.”

Whenever city council members received information-only notifications pertaining to city business, Sonnier said Ferguson made sure the group didn’t violate the Texas Open Meeting Act by simply replying to and prematurely discussing said information.

Sonnier said Ferguson was the “stop-gap” to make sure city council meetings were conducted correctly.

“She’s the one that kind of held the city council together,” Sonnier said. “She was the one that knew all the Texas Municipal League rules that we have to follow as city council (members). When you run for elections, she’s the first person you meet to go get your application to be on the ballot… She still helped with the process, making sure you have all your receipts in for any donations you had for a campaign, all your milestones are met for the Texas Municipal League… (She was) very detailed. She held us accountable, held herself accountable.”

Root said Ferguson was a stickler for detail and keeping things straight.

Duque said Ferguson connected with people doing work such as overseeing birth and death certificates.

“She was a friend to everybody here. We always used to call her the ‘mom’ here at the city hall. (She) always just wanted to know how you were doing, wanted to know how your kids were doing… Just a tremendous loss to everybody here professionally and personally,” Duque said.

Outside her duties as city clerk, Ferguson was one of the founding members of the Adaptive Sports for Kids program, which allows children and young adults with special needs the opportunity to play sports like baseball, football and soccer at Doornbos Park in Nederland.

“She was so involved with the community… The way she went about it, you wanted to help her out,” Root said. “She was always giving.”

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Sonnier said Ferguson also made necessary critiques to some of the city’s COVID-19 grant funds to ensure they could be allocated to organizations such as the Nederland Little League, which lost revenue due to the Heritage Festival, and the Nederland Lions Club.

“She reviewed those, scrutinized them, made sure they were up to par,” Sonnier said.

In recent weeks, Ferguson worked on obtaining grant money from a local refinery to put down AstroTurf at Babe Ruth Park in Nederland.

“This is a big project she was working on, and we just found out about probably four weeks ago,” Sonnier said.

Root said she will forever cherish memories like this past spring when she and Ferguson were at opening day for the A.S.K. program’s baseball season. They snapped a photo of themselves from the occasion, something that brings a smile to Root’s face. 

Matt.Hollinshead@beaumontenterprise.com

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