Associate music professor Nancy Ferguson died Nov. 20 of lung cancer. She was 68.
Ferguson became a University of Arizona music teacher in 1987. She specialized in elementary music education and directed the UA Music Experience Laboratory for preschool children.
Last November, she received the Orff Distinguished Service Award, the highest honor presented by the American Orff-Schulwerk Association.
She helped write the "Music and You" series, was a contributing author to "Music for Children" and was an author of several collections of musical arrangements by Carl Orff.
"She was one of the most wonderful people on our faculty," said Rob Cutietta, director of the School of Music and Dance. "She would always sit on her floor, and I'd go sit in there with her when I needed to talk. She was caring and dedicated to her students beyond belief. She is missed."
Music education coordinator Don Hamman knew Ferguson and taught with her for several years.
"She was an upbeat and energetic woman," he said. "She always went out of her way for her students, and they loved her too. It was a fully reciprocal relationship."
Ferguson's funeral service was held Saturday in Paradise Valley. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the UA Foundation/Nancy Ferguson Memorial.
