Charles "Ferd" Ferdinand Carson

CHARLES FERDINAND (“FERD”) CARSON, JR.

A gentler, more faithful and loving husband and father could not have been found than was Charles Ferdinand Carson, Jr., "Ferd", who was born November 14, 1937 and died Friday, May 1, 2020.  He was born in Englewood, NJ, but because of his love of the South where he spent most of his life, he always said, "I couldn't help it; that's where my mother was."  That love of the South led him to write a book which was published in 2016 under the title Defending the South.

Ferd moved with his family from Arlington, Virginia to Georgia when he was sixteen, graduated as valedictorian of his class from Reynolds High School, Reynolds, Georgia and then graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.  He was invited to join two honorary fraternities at Tech, namely Pi Tau Sigma and Tau Beta Pi.  He worked more than thirty years in machine design for companies in Illinois, Georgia, Connecticut, South Carolina and finally in Greensboro, NC, where he earned several patents for various machine designs in the garment industry.

Ferd loved to travel, and he and his wife, Vivien, did a lot of that in their 60 years of marriage including one 8-week motor trip to Alaska. He also enjoyed a number of hobbies including model railroading, writing and playing the harmonica.  He played the harmonica a lot during his retirement years when he became the leader of a small band called Ferd and Friends. For nearly five years that group was playing approximately 100 times a year for church groups, retirement homes and civic organizations around Greensboro.  He left the group in 2011 when he and Vivien moved to Fort Mill, SC.  In 2016 they returned to the Triad for residence at Pennybyrn in High Point, NC. 

He is survived by his wife, Vivien Johnson Carson, a son, Randy Carson (Lisa), a daughter, Catherine Foster (Allen), and six grandchildren: James, Mia, and Josh Carson; Samantha, Grant (Daytona), and Grace Foster, plus four great-grandchildren.  He was preceded in death by his parents, Charles Ferdinand Sr. and Marie Elmer Carson.

Memorial arrangements will be made after restrictions for COVID-19 have been lifted.  A private burial ceremony will be held later at the Carson Family Cemetery in Reynolds, Georgia.

In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Residents Care Fund at Pennybyrn, 109 Penny Road, High Point, NC or to Jamestown Presbyterian Church, 1804 Guilford College Road, Jamestown, NC, 27282.

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