His parents, a Scottish immigrant and a Missouri farm girl, moved the family to Akron, Ohio, where Ferguson spent much of his early childhood.

At Trenton High School, Ferguson played basketball, football, and baseball and graduated in 1948, becoming the first member of his family to receive more than a ninth-grade education.

June of ’52 was a busy one: graduating college, marrying his high-school sweetheart and joining Michigan Bell as a management trainee, only to be drafted into the U.S. Army in September 1952.

Stationed in Fort Monmouth, NJ, as a Corporal teaching electronics at the Signal Corps School, Bill returned to Michigan Bell in Detroit in 1954 to continue his career.

Faith also played a role in Bill's life, calling the United Methodist Churches of Trenton, MI, and Armonk, NY, his sanctuaries.

With the help of his wife Joyce, William established scholarships for Albion College students in education, communications studies, music, and the Carl A. Gerstacker Institute for Business and Management.