Cora Ann Brantley Fergerson

Cora Ann Brantley Fergerson, 87, of Pampa, passed away on Saturday, July 16, 2022, in Amarillo.

Services will be 10:00 AM, Thursday, July 21, 2022 at Central Baptist Church, with Brother Norman Rushing, pastor, officiating. Burial will follow at Fairview Cemetery.  Arrangements are under the direction of Carmichael-Whatley Funeral Directors and Crematory. 

The family will receive friends from 6:00 PM – 7:30PM on Wednesday, July 20, 2022,  at the funeral home.

Cora was born July 19, 1934 in Oneida, Tennessee to Jake and Ada Smith.  She grew up on a farm, with a creek in the back and a garden.  Her mother passed away when she was 13.  She learned to take care of the home for her daddy and kept it “neat as a pin.”  She was very close to her Aunt Cora, who had a great influence on her growing up.  Her daddy and her moved to Oregon after her mother passed, where she graduated from Glendale High School in Glendale, Oregon in 1952.  While in high school, she served on the yearbook staff and was assistant to the editor her senior year.  She also played on the basketball team when she lived in Tennessee.

She married James (Jim) Brantley in November of 1952.  They later moved to Grants Pass, Oregon, where her eldest son, Michael, was born in 1953.  They then moved to Modesto, California, where her second son, David was born in 1958.  She and Jim made their final move to Pampa, Texas later in 1958.  Their daughter, Sherri, was born in Pampa in 1961.  Her husband passed away in 1968 and Cora became a single mother of three.  She put herself through LVN school during the day and worked at the hospital at night.  She graduated Valedictorian from LVN school in 1970.  She worked for 37 years as a nurse, most of her time spent working as Dr. Charles Ashby’s nurse at the Pampa Medical and Surgical Clinic.  When she retired, she volunteered for Meals on Wheels, Good Samaritan and Pampa Regional Medical Center, where she dedicated over 2000 hours as a volunteer.

Cora met Dillon Fergerson in 2005 at Central Baptist Church in Pampa.  After a whirlwind courtship, they were married in April of that same year.  Cora was a devoted Christian who actively and faithfully served her family, church, and community well.  She was a beloved Nana!  She has been a member at Central Baptist Church since 1974.  Over the years, she participated as a member of the “Golden Heirs” senior adult choir, VBS volunteer and as secretary for her Sunday School department.  She was passionately devoted to her church, morning Bible study, reading and gardening. 

Survivors include her husband, Dillon Fergerson; her son, Michael Brantley; her daughter, Sherri Gardner and husband James; her stepson, Greg Fergerson and wife Tracy; 3 grandchildren, Heather Ridenour and husband Kevin, Maegan Holycross and husband Gary, and Chelsea Dyer; six step grandchildren, Jaden Fergerson, Jacy Mace, Kaden Mace, Kolton Mace, Maelee Fergerson and Landri Fergerson; two brothers-in-law, Donald Fergerson, Jim Fergerson and wife Sheri.

She is preceded in death by her parents; 3 brothers, Ale, Joel, and D.C.; her first husband, Jim; her first father and mother-in-law, Cleveland and wife Sybil Brantley; her son, David; and 2 great-grandchildren, Michael Liam Joseph and Castiel Joseph Brantley-Ridenour.