N. Earl Ferris II, 86 of Sun City, Huntley, passed away peacefully at his home on Saturday morning, June 13, 2015 following a lengthy illness.
He was born May 24, 1929 in Hampton, Iowa, the son of S. Wayne and Allice (Henning) Ferris. He was raised and educated in Hampton, graduating from Hampton High School in 1947. He attended Iowa State University and later enlisted in the United States Army where he served in the Korean War. He was united in marriage to Wanda M. Wiese on March 30, 1951 in Eldora, Iowa. The couple made their home in Hampton and Earl served as President and was the fourth generation of Ferris’s to operate Earl Ferris Nursery. In 1978 Earl moved to Huntley and was instrumental in beginning a number of start-up nurseries in the area. Later he worked with D. Hill Nursery in Marengo working in sales and later field operations. Earl served as a nursery advisor to a number of community colleges in Iowa, received the “Honor Award” from the Iowa State Horticultural Society, was the first person inducted into the Iowa Nurserymen’s Hall of Fame and served on the Iowa Board of Landscape Architect Examiners. He had been a member of the American Legion for over 60 years, and perfect attendance for as long as a Rotarian, serving as President for Clubs in Hampton, Round Lake & McHenry. He was awarded a Paul Harris Fellow on multiple occasions.
He is survived by his companion, Marjorie Hanson of Huntley, his children, Skip (Terri) Ferris of Gilbert, Minnesota, Bill (Linn) Ferris of Lakeville, Minnesota, Maryann Sudmeier of Arvada, Colorado, Bob (Patty) Ferris of Crystal Lake, Illinois and John (Heather) Ferris of the Village of Greenwood, Illinois, 8 grandchildren, 6 great-grandchildren, his sister, Patricia Boehmler of Mesa, Arizona and his brother, Wayne (Mickey) Ferris. He was preceded in death by his wife of 51 years, Wanda.
A memorial gathering will be held from 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. on Friday, June 19th at the DeFiore-Jorgensen Funeral & Cremation Service, 10763 Dundee Road, Huntley, Illinois. A Memorial Service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 20th with visitation an hour prior at the First Congregational Church, 11628 E. Main Street, Huntley, Illinois. Burial with military honors by the Hampton American Legion will be at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, June 22nd at the Hampton Cemetery in Hampton, Iowa. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the BOLD fund in care of the First Congregational Church of Huntley, Illinois or the Rotary Foundation, 14280 Collections Center Drive, Chicago, IL 60693 or at Rotary.org .
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I am honored and blessed to have known Earl. I am deeply saddened by your loss words may not express the heartfelt sorrow that I feel for you at this time, but please accept my condolences.