Ferguson, Frank

Frank Ferguson was born in 1905 in Stoughton, Saskatchewan, to George Ferguson and Elizabeth (Lizzie) Fairlie. After Elizabeth passed away in the 1919 influenza pandemic, George sent Frank and his siblings to live with their aunt in Beeton, Ontario. Frank attended school in Georgetown, Ontario, and went on to enroll at University College at the University of Toronto in 1923.
Frank planned to become a minister, and studied English and History, hoping that a strong background in both subjects would contribute to his success as a preacher. Frank spent two summers on religious mission in Saskatchewan, where he met his future wife, Grace Warner. Upon return to Toronto, Frank decided against the religious life, and instead decided to focus on teaching. He graduated with degrees in English and History in 1927, and went on to study at the Ontario College of Education, graduating in 1928. In the same year, Frank and Grace were married. Grace, a graduate of the University of Saskatchewan, also became a schoolteacher.
The couple lived briefly in London and Weston, where Frank accepted teaching positions. In 1933, the couple settled in Galt, when Frank was hired as the head of the English Department at Galt Collegiate Institute and Vocational School. Grace and Frank had four children, Graeme, Janet, Mary, and William. In 1945, the Ferguson family settled into their home in Puslinch, Ontario.
In addition to his teaching role in Galt, Frank Ferguson also had a keen interest in politics, and in 1945 ran as a federal candidate for the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) in Waterloo South, coming in second place. He was again named the CCF candidate in 1949 but dropped out of the race due to time constraints.
As a teacher, Frank had a particular passion for the works of William Shakespeare, and he taught The Bard and other classics of English literature with relish to generations of students. In 1959, Frank became one of the first secondary school teachers in Ontario to take a sabbatical leave. During this time, he spent a year in England researching, preparing, and editing a series of Shakespearean textbooks that would go on to be used in Ontario schools. In 1963, Frank was named the outstanding English teacher in the province of Ontario. Frank retired from Galt Collegiate Institute the following year, but he continued to teach and lecture part time at the University of Toronto’s Extension Department (now the School for Continuing Studies), the Cambridge Public Library, and the Workers' Economic Association in Galt, Preston, Kitchener, and Brantford. In 1979, Frank received the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federations Diamond Jubilee award for distinguished service to education and community.
Many of Frank’s students went on the achieve great success in their fields, including Peter Gzowski, a well-known Canadian broadcaster, as well as Graeme Ferguson (Frank’s son), Robert Kerr, and William Shaw, three of the founding members of the IMAX Corporation.
Frank Ferguson passed away in 1993, in Arundel, Quebec. In recognition of his work and dedication to his community, Frank Ferguson was posthumously inducted into the Cambridge Hall of Fame in 2002. His legacy at Galt Collegiate Institute also continues through the Frank Ferguson Award, a college scholarship for students who excel in English.

October 5, 2023

• English

Warrington, Clyde. “Life after teaching: Frank’s still No. 1 25 years after retiring.” The Cambridge Reporter. August 26, 1989.
“Colleagues Honor retired teacher.” The Cambridge Times. December 5, 1979.
Cambridge Hall of Fame. “Frank Ferguson.” Accessed February 2, 2023. https://www.cambridge.ca/en/learn-about/cambridge-hall-of-fame.aspx

Created by Lindsay Grant, Assistant Media Archivist, University of Toronto Media Commons Archives