Doris Ferguson McGaha

Mrs. Doris Ferguson McGaha, age 87, of Madison, Alabama, passed away peacefully on February 20, 2022. Doris grew up in Fines Creek and Brevard, North Carolina. She attended Brevard High School, where she played basketball, and met her future husband, Jack McGaha. Doris and Jack married in 1953 and Doris went on to graduate from Brevard College. After graduation, they moved to Raleigh, North Carolina. There they started their family with the addition of their children. Over the years, Doris enjoyed teaching kindergarten and being involved with the Church.
The children remember their mother’s easy going and understanding nature, her ability to always be positive, a magnetic personality, and a contagious smile. Doris was a devoted Christian woman who loved the Lord and showed His love to others through acts of kindness, including writing cards to family and friends, serving, and praying for others. Even as she struggled through her own illness, she continued to minister to those she met.
After retirement, the couple moved to Fort Myers, Florida, where Doris enjoyed their life together of going to the beach, sightseeing, staying in touch with family and friends. Later, the couple spent time with their children living in Georgia, Arkansas, Florida, and Alabama. Doris and Jack were always together, enjoying the company of each other and their large family. A loving wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother, Doris’ passions included spending lots of time with Jack and being part of the families each of their four children were building. Doris, known to the family as “Nanny”, had a couple of notable ‘signature items’; her red cardinal sweater and her yeast rolls for holiday meals; a recipe that has passed down through the next two generations.
Doris is preceded in death by her husband of 67 years, Jack McGaha, her parents, Thelma and Steve Ferguson, and her brother Buell Ferguson. Doris is survived by her daughter, Marian, and her husband, Fred Kilgroe, her daughter, Susan, and her husband, Dr. Richard Lochala, her son, Jack McGaha, Jr., and her daughter, Diane, and her husband, Gregory Grant. She is also survived by 14 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at 11 AM on February 26 at Legacy Chapel Funeral Home in Madison, Alabama. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial gifts be made to Gideons International at www.gideons.org