In this new blog series, we honour the men and women who helped the Tourette Syndrome Foundation of Canada (TSFC) rise from its humble roots and explore the events that shaped its history.
Terry was there from the beginning.
According to an early issue of The Green Leaflet (lovingly published in a Toronto basement using a hand roller press and carbon paper in March 1979), Terry was “one of the earliest to be diagnosed as having Tourette’s Syndrome in Canada.”
Mr. Ferguson was very open about his TS, and had up-to-date knowledge about neurological disorders other than his own. A passionate volunteer for the TS cause, Terry sat on the TSFC Board of Directors as well as “serving on the executive of the Gravenhurst Kinsmen Club,” an Ontario community in which he owned and operated The Muskokan Motel.
Terry was a very kind man, his presence being “a terrific morale booster for many of our members.” He loved photography and electronics. “An avid correspondent,” Mr. Ferguson was always “willing to exchange letters with any member.”
But Terry’s story and his legacy do not end there.
The Green Leaflet reads: “Terry is a family man and is very proud of [his wife] Judy who stood by and dotes on his children, son Kenny and daughter, Heather, one year.” When Terry passed away, his family, including Heather and Kenny, now grown up, decided to honour his memory along with Terry’s friends by participating in the Trek for Tourette held in Bracebridge, Ontario.
Each March, this large group treks five kilometres through the crisp Muskoka air to raise funds for the TS cause that Terry so strongly believed in. Some bear the curious writing “VE3 TKF.” If you ask them, they’ll tell you it’s a reference to Terry’s call sign as a ham radio operator, his beloved pastime.
Says his daughter Heather, now a proud parent herself:
Growing up with a father who had TS was ‘normal’ to me. I didn’t fully understand it at young age, however growing up I became aware of his physical tics and verbal slurs. When he became excited or anxious about a social gathering or event, his tics would increase. As I matured and understood TS more, I became proud of my dad. He plunged forward in life from a difficult childhood growing up with TS to falling in love, getting married, running his own business (with my Mom for 25 years) and raising my brother Ken and I. My dad was a father in a home full of unconditional love, support, humour and happiness.
We salute Terry Ferguson for his contributions to the TS movement and for being such an incredible role model for so many. May his spirit of volunteerism be an inspiration for other volunteers, current and future.
