Obituary of John Work
John Ferguson Work died on 4 Jan 2021 at the Holy Angels Residential Facility in Shreveport, Louisiana. Born on 26 Jan 1963 at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, he was the fourth child and third son of CWO4 Robert Grant Work USMC and Wordie Isbell Work. He moved with his military family from Arlington, Virginia, to USNavSta Rota, Spain, to USNavAirSta Millington, Tennessee.
In Memphis, Tennessee in 1972 with little in the way of Special Education available, Mr. and Mrs. Work became acquainted with Gerald Faye through a Down’s Syndrome Parent Support Group. There they learned about the incredible work of the Sisters of Our Lady of Sorrows in Louisiana. After visiting the St Mary’s Training School in Alexandria, Louisiana, the decision was made to place John in their care. Shortly, thereafter CWO Work retired from the Marine Corps and the couple moved to Lafayette, Louisiana to be near their son and became active supporters of the facility and the Parent’s Organization.
In 1984, John Work came to live at the Holy Angels Residential Facility in Shreveport. He made life-long friendships there with other residents and staff. He saw the many changes that have taken place there over the years and he benefitted greatly from the evolving philosophy of maximizing the potential of the mentally handicapped under the care of the late Sister Concetta Scipione and the present administrator Laurie Boswell. He lived at Infant Jesus of Prague dormitory, the Smith and St Michael Group Homes and finally at Madonna Hall.
He is the fifth generation in the WORK family to carry forward the name of his Revolutionary War era 4thGreat Grandmother Margaret Ferguson. He is survived by his sister Donna Mae Work, Homewood IL, and his brothers Robert Orton Work, Woodbridge VA, and James Michael Work, Murray KY. The family will be forever indebted to the hundreds of kind and caring people of the Holy Angels Community who dedicate their life’s work to caring for the mentally handicapped.
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