US Army Lloyd "Toodles" Gibson Ferguson (1913-1944) was born on September 8, 1913 in Pace, Florida, son of William Henry Ferguson Sr. (1874-1945) and Mary Alice Ferguson (1874-1935). His family lineage goes back to Don Manuel Gonzalez who came to Pensacola in the late 1700's. His paternal grandfather Robert A. Ferguson fought in the Civil War with the 6th US Cavalry while his maternal grandfather Ignatius V. Bobe (1844-1881) served with the Confederate 2nd Florida Infantry Regiment. In the meantime, his father supported the family as a machinist for a machine shop, a sawmill, and a dry dock before retiring from Civil Service at NAS. By 1935, his son Lloyd had graduated from high school in 1932 and was working at a service station. The following year he's was a salesman for Sears & Roebuck and on December 5, 1937 he married Natalie Lambert (1916-2013) from Bay Springs. She graduated from Ernest Ward High School in Walnut Hill followed and from the Sacred Heart School of Nursing in 1937. After the wedding, the young couple left for Albany, Georgia where Lloyd was still working for Sears. By 1940, they were in Gainesville, Florida where he was working for the Spearman Brewing Company.
When the war came, Lloyd attempted to join the Navy but due to his flat feet he was declared 4F. However, he didn't give up and went to the Army recruiter who accepted him enlisted him on June 8, 1944. He was sent to Camp Blanding for processing before heading off to basic training. He was sent overseas in November 1945 and assigned to the 28th Infantry Regiment of the 8th Infantry Division as a machine gunner. He was rushed to the front along with other replacements just in time to join the bloody battle of the Hurtgen Forest. Clearing the forest, they pushed on to Brandenburg and the Roer River. They crossed the river on February 23rd and finally captured the Erft Canal on the 28th. The division was heading for the Rhine when Lloyd was killed in action on March 3, 1945 near Habbelrath, Germany. A telegram was sent by the War Department to Natalie at their home at 1720 East Bobe Street informing her of his death. Today, he rests in the military cemetery in Henri-Chapelle, Belgium.
Natalie would remarry in 1947 to Florida Highway Trooper Owen Thurman Cason (1911-1992) with one daughter, Patricia resulting. Her son Michael Lambert Ferguson (1938-2020) was six-years-old when his father was killed but would graduate from Pensacola High School in 1956 and from West Point in 1960. He would distinguish himself in combat in Vietnam before retiring as a Brigadier General in 1986. Afterwards, he obtained his law degree and became a partner with McDonald, Fleming, Moorhead and Ferguson.
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