The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
P&J obituary writer dictates one final tribute... his own
If ever there was a quintessential “newspaper man” it was DC Thomson journalist Chris Ferguson.
Over four decades in the industry, the proud family man and media stalwart straddled “old school” days of print production – “getting the paper out no matter what” – with more recent shifts to pioneering digital media, taking both expertly in his stride.
Starting as a “cub reporter”, Chris’s journalistic debut was a report of his days as a council refuse collector, part of the crew responsible for “the fastest bin round in Perth”.
His swansong would be the notes for this obituary, dictated from his hospital bed, where he died on Friday, age 60.
Christopher Robert George Ferguson was born in Dundee on February 10 1964.
The second of four “Ferguson boys”, his father George was a Second World War veteran. His mother Jean looked after her boys and later worked in insurance.
A qualified engineer, George worked for the British Jute Trade Research Association on Dundee’s Kingsway.
In 1971, with the closing down of “Jute Research”, the Fergusons moved to Perth where George found factory work.
Having started his education at Rockwell Primary in Dundee, Chris transferred to Northern District Primary School in Perth after the move.
He and his brothers Peter, Jeffrey, and Adrian joined the 16th Perth Company Boys’ Brigade at North Church.
Always highly intelligent with a huge capacity for remembering information, Chris attended Perth Grammar School.
There, amid an eclectic diet of subjects including Latin and Spanish, he began to excel as an athlete.
A rejection of further education then saw him join friends on the Black Isle to undertake subcontracting work, laying the foundations of the Hutton oil field platform.
In 1983, Chris began a 40-year career in journalism.
Initially a trainee at The Courier and Evening Telegraph’s Perth office, the following years took him to Montrose, Aberdeen and Peterhead.
After a brief spell editing the Deeside and Donside Pipers, he went back to Angus to launch The Arbroath Guide and Carnoustie Leader.
He returned to the Courier as sub-editor at the Kingsway plant in 1995, before a switch back to reporting opened the door for shifts on the newsdesk.
A journalist with a keen understanding of the communities he served, Chris was involved in numerous campaigns, including efforts to save The Black Watch and moves to scrap Tay Bridge tolls.
All this led to his appointment as assistant editor.
For the next 15 years he was, by his own admission, “immersed in production” helping DC Thomson maintain a frontline print and digital presence “even during the pandemic.”
When, in 2021, DC Thomson restructured its Dundee and Aberdeen
newsrooms to create mini publishing teams working across both sites, Chris pitched the idea of a new, dedicated obituaries team.
A year into his work managing this new and award-winning team, the most high-profile death in a generation occurred in his news patch.
The loss of Queen Elizabeth II saw Chris’s unrivalled knowledge, both of the monarchy and her time in the north of Scotland, harnessed to create a 108-page supplement of her life.
The Courier editor David Clegg said it was a milestone in an already remarkable career.
“In my opinion, his incredible coverage of the death of Her Majesty the Queen in September 2022 was the moment The Courier’s proud print legacy and exciting digital future meshed together most perfectly,” he said.
“It is a testament to his remarkable talent that Chris was equally at home in newsprint or cyberspace.
“I learned an incredible amount from him and will miss him dearly.”
Chris’s outstanding work led to his attendance at the late Queen’s memorial service in Edinburgh’s St Giles’ Cathedral.
Only one thing superseded Chris’s considerable dedication to his work: his fierce love for his family.
Chris met Carolyn Clark on May 28 1986 in Toffs’ Disco, Montrose.
“It was a Wednesday night when you got in free. I remember the date so well,” said Carolyn.
“I saw this good-looking man I hadn’t seen before. Chris saw me too. He said it was love at first sight.”
The young couple tied the knot on September 19 1992 in Old Church, Montrose, where they set up home.
Three years later daughter Caitlin arrived, followed by son Calum in 1999, by which point the family had moved to Arbroath.
Soon after Calum was born, Carolyn was diagnosed with cancer.
It was “an incredibly difficult time”, but here Chris’s strength of character was evident.
As he worked to provide for his family, he also took part in fundraising events for cancer research.
In 2017, Caitlin started dating Latvian Davids Cirulis.
“As soon as I met him he was family right away,” Chris said.
Throughout the following years Chris enjoyed getting to know his Latvian “in-laws” and visiting Riga.
However, in February 2019, he took on his “proudest role of all” becoming grandad to Caitlin and Davids’ little boy, Isaac.
“Saturday mornings were for Isaac,” Carolyn said. “He would take him out to the harbour, or on a trip.”
Chris celebrated his 60th birthday in February this year with a family meal.
Just weeks later, on Good Friday, he was admitted to hospital following a massive heart attack.
He passed away peacefully on Friday.
Among qualities too many to mention, Chris will be remembered for his warmth, his humour, his love of a good quiz, being the office savant, and for his relentless loyalty and compassion.