Harold "Mule" Wayne Ferguson

Mr. Harold “Mule” Wayne Ferguson, age 87, of North Wilkesboro, NC, passed away Tuesday, March 3, 2020, at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem. 

He was a member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Wilkesboro, for over 20 years. Memorial services will be held at St. Paul’s at 2:00PM Saturday, March 7, 2020, with Rev. Stephen Sedgwick officiating. The family will receive friends in the parish house immediately following the service. 

Mule was born June 6, 1932, in Boomer, NC, to Ruby Ferguson. He attended Wilkesboro High School and was a former Quarter Master 2 in the United States Navy where he studied Naval Mine Warfare at the University of Korea from 1951 until 1955. He later studied at Clevenger Business College and for 24 years worked for Lowe’s Home Improvement. After retirement from Lowe’s, Mule owned and operated Pumpkin Creek Video Productions. As the videographer of the first Eddie Merle Watson Memorial Festival (today’s Merlefest), Mule created a key video that was instrumental in building momentum for continuing the festival. 

Mule was a fun-loving, kilt-wearing adventurer who embraced new experiences throughout his life. A lover of flying and being in the air, Mule completed over 1300 parachute jumps, and he and a friend built a Vari-Eze airplane which he flew for several years. In 1986 he became a hot air balloon pilot and later began flying a motorized parachute. He loved new technology and became an early adopter and evangelist for electric vehicles. Mule was also a talented singer and musician who played guitar, banjo, dulcimer and pedal steel guitar. But it was his legendary imitation of a braying mule that became his signature sound. 

In addition to his mother, he was preceded in death by a sister, Barbara Ferguson Laws and a brother, Roger Ferguson. 

He is survived by his wife, Debbie Ferguson, of the home. 

The family requests in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Humane Society of Wilkes, PO Box 306, North Wilkesboro, NC 28659. 

Online condolences may be made at www.reinssturdivant.com. 

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