Obituary of Elizabeth Ferguson

Elizabeth Regina “Sunshine” Ferguson December 19, 1937 ~ November 21, 2019 Heaven received a beautiful angel when our precious mother, Elizabeth Regina Ferguson, 81, beloved wife of our late father, Berend Henrick Joost (1968), went peacefully during the early morning hours of Thursday, November 21st 2019 at Community Hospice, Fernandina Beach, Florida. Born on December 19, 1937 in Camden, New Jersey, she was the daughter of the late Stanley Jack and Helena Alice Kaminsky. She is remembered with love by her son Mark Whitney Joost of Madison, FL and daughter Regina Maria Joost of Saint Marys, GA; grandchildren, Berend Richard (Charlene) Bergner of Ocala, FL, Jeremiah Russell (Emily) Joost-Miller of Fernandina Beach, FL; and Christina Marie (Lester) Hilton of Madison, FL. She also leaves her great grandchildren, Lori Belle, Robbie, Mary Jane, Lola Marie, Harley Rose, Lester Jr., Tyrion, Yadin and Isabella. She is also survived by her beloved sister, Dorothy Gelmetti, brother-in-law, James Rogozinski, sister-in-law Evelyn Kaminsky, and her many nieces and nephews. In addition to her late husband Berend, she was predeceased by her firstborn son, Russell McKinley Joost, her stillborn son, Joseph, mother-in-law Mary Delores Roth, sisters Helen Ronca; Marie Rogozinski, Margaret Wallace, brother Stanley Kaminsky, and brothers-in-law Silvio Ronca, Frank Wallace, Ricco Gelmetti, John Garcia and sister-in-law Nancy Garcia. She is forever loved by her former husband, John Lee Ferguson (Tim, Ronnie, Gail, Matthew) of Southern Pines, NC, and the many treasured friends who she left behind. As a young widow, our beautiful mother worked harder than anyone we knew, following the untimely losses of our beloved father and brothers, early on as a waitress and then as a successful business owner at Happy Acres Motel (DeBary, FL, 1978 - 1992). Her fierce determination also earned her the title of “Queen Runner-up” for Georgia after losing over one hundred pounds during her affiliation with TOPS (Kingsland), which she was a secretary for many years. In light of all she accomplished, she will be remembered most for lighting up the world with her beautiful smile, her enduring love for her family and the loyalty she held for every heart so blessed to know her. She traveled her life journey bravely, with a resolve to persevere through hardships of serious lifelong health challenges and tragic losses, always with incredible strength and grace. Our mother had a deep faith and often shared that the “Serenity Prayer” was her go to prayer in times of challenge. She was known by many for her gift of reaching hearts through her beautifully handwritten notes and timely telephone calls, as she never hesitated to let a loved one know she was thinking of them. Even from her humble beginnings, she had a gift for making everything around her beautiful - holding family traditions dear and making cherished holidays special and full of love! She often told us “home is where the heart is” and she imparted to us hearts of gratitude as we witnessed her deep appreciation and tender love for animals and nature. She found peace when close to the ocean or simply listening to the joyful birds in song. She treasured the simplest, most beautiful things in life, yet our beautiful mother treasured nothing more on earth than her loved ones. Her loving kindness and generosity was bestowed to her dear loved ones and strangers alike, as she loved deeply, forgave quickly, and always dared to love again! Simple words are not enough to convey the beautiful woman we were so blessed to have as our mom and who countless others knew as “Sunshine!” At a time of such great loss we can find comfort and peace in knowing that our beautiful Sunshine is now with the Lord in Heaven, dancing with our father and brothers and all the angels who’ve waited for her there - rejoicing to share eternal life! Our beautiful mother expressed many times through the years she did not want us to be sad upon her departure, but instead, she hoped to look down and see all her loved ones sharing our fondest memories of her, laughing and celebrating her beautiful life well-lived! She wished for there to be a joyful sendoff with a balloon release up to the heavens and to have her remains scattered into the beautiful sea, where she longed to reunite with the love of her life - our father, and her beloved sons. We are humbled by the brave fight our beautiful mother fought during her last days and how blessed we were to witness among her last words when she woke in the middle of the morning, several days before her last day on earth as she repeatedly said “I am so grateful, I am so grateful!” We will be forever grateful for the dignified and loving care she received during her final precious days from the compassionate nurses and doctors at Baptist Hospital Nassau and at Community Hospice, Fernandina Beach, Florida. We are so blessed to know that in her final days our beautiful mother was surrounded by the light and pure love of her cherished grandchildren, great grandchildren, treasured family and dear friends, as well as her faithful companion, “Sadie Marie,” all who reminded her how dearly she was loved. We will honor our beloved mother’s final wishes with a joyful celebration of life on her birthday at Saint Marys waterfront, with a balloon release to the heavens before leaving for the exquisite beauty of Cumberland Island, where she will reunite with her beloved husband and sons. We believe our precious mother’s hope would be for those who remain behind, strive always to seek the best in others, forgive quickly and love one another with all your heart! Always, upon parting, our sweet mama wished everyone she encountered to “have a beautiful day," along with a loving reminder to “keep a smile in your heart!” We promise mama, we will keep your beautiful light shining as we now fight bravely to keep a smile in our hearts ~ until that glorious day we meet again! 1Corinthinans13:4-7