26-05-2025
Representative, rancher, publisher: Oklahoman Larry Ferguson to lie in state Tuesday
Long-time Republican state representative, rancher and newspaper publisher Larry Ferguson is remembered, among many things, as someone who believed that the person, rather than the party, should guide voters to their choices at the polls.
Ferguson, who was 87, died on May 23. He will be honored for his numerous contributions to Oklahoma when his body lies in state from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 27. A memorial service will follow at 3:30 p.m. in the fourth floor rotunda near the House chambers.
"He was such a quiet, unassuming person that just wanted better for you than he wanted for himself," said Mark Thomas, executive director of the Oklahoma Press Association. "He always wanted to defer to other people that they received recognition, not him. I think lying in state is a terrific way to honor him and the whole Ferguson family, which has been an important part of Oklahoma history."
Born on Oct. 4, 1937, Larry Ferguson was the youngest child of newspaper man Jo Orval Ferguson and Annabelle Stogsdill Ferguson. Ferguson's older brother David Jo "D Jo" Ferguson was also involved in the family publishing business.
After graduating from Pawnee High School, Larry Ferguson went on to The University of Oklahoma, where he earned a degree in journalism.
While at OU, Ferguson joined the Army ROTC program and after graduation, spent time in the Army, before returning home in 1962 to publish The Cleveland American alongside his wife and high school sweetheart Nina Gay Flanagan.
The Fergusons would have three children — two daughters and a son — and were married for 65 years.
Larry Ferguson joined civic clubs, served in leadership roles and challenged others through his weekly editorial column, Larry's Listening Post, to want more of themselves, each other and the society they lived in.
Eventually, this would lead Ferguson to the Cleveland School Board and later the Oklahoma State School Boards Association, where he would advocate for public education across the state.
In 1985, Ferguson entered state politics, challenging and defeating eight candidates to win the Oklahoma House seat for District 35, a district that, at the time, was 70% Democrat.
"Larry, as a legislator, was a quiet, humble, respected, thoughtful person who could really identify a problem and try and help everybody feel like they had succeeded in getting something that they needed," Thomas said. "He was that kind of guy who, when he finally got to where he really couldn't do it much anymore, really you could feel a void [from] his ability to kind of lead and bring people together."
From 1991 to 1998, Larry served as House Minority Leader, the longest-serving in Oklahoma history at the time. Though a proud Republican, Ferguson earned respect across political lines and was the first Republican representative in two decades to appointed by a Democrat to chair a House committee.
He served District 35 for 20 years, championing the growth of Oklahoma's Republican Party and laying the groundwork for a Republican majority.
"My father was a sergeant in the house after he retired for 27 years and he and Larry were about the same age," Thomas said. "But my father always called Larry 'Father Time.' ... Because it seemed like he'd been there such a long time. ... And so after my father died, I always called Larry Father Time just because it always made him smile to be called Father Time because he'd been around so long."
Ferguson's time at the Capitol was marked by care for the people of Pawnee, Noble, Osage and Payne counties, including his own family.
"He called me and asked me to come to his office at the Capitol. It was about highway funding, and he told me, 'I've got a problem with one of your publishers who's griping at me about not getting enough highway funding for his district," Thomas recalled of a conversation with Ferguson. "I said, 'Who is it?' He said, 'It's my brother, D Jo, I only get so much money, and I can't give it all to him. Will you tell him?'"
After leaving the politics, Ferguson would return to Cleveland and ranching, while also enjoying time with his wife and grandchildren.
Ferguson's love for and work with his family's newspapers, The Cleveland American, The Pawnee Chief and The Hominy News-Progress, led to his eventual induction into the Oklahoma Press Association's Half Century Club. Ferguson was inducted into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame in 2014.
"Larry was an outstanding political leader in Oklahoma as well as part of a great journalistic family. The Ferguson family is well-represented in the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame and an important part of our history," said Joe Hight, director of the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame. "It's always sad to lose someone of Larry's caliber. But his legacy will continue through his family and in the Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame sends our sincere condolences on his passing."
Ferguson is survived by a large family — including his three children, Lori Lucas, Rusty Ferguson, and Kari Watkins, along with their spouses, as well as 11 grandchildren and their spouses, more than 20 great-grandchildren, and numerous others.
Contributions in Ferguson's honor may be made to the First Christian Church Memorial Fund in Cleveland, Oklahoma, or to The Oklahoma City National Memorial Foundation, in his name.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Who was Larry Ferguson? Former OK state Rep. to lie in state Tuesday
