Dr. Thomas C. "Tom" Ferguson Jr., 81,  passed away Aug. 29, 2013. He received his bachelor of music education in 1954. In 1956, he received his master of music in theory from the University of Rochester Eastman School of Music. He served two years in the U.S. Army, where he taught theory, conducting and arranging in the Army Band Master program on the faculty of the U.S. Naval School of Music. After his discharge, he played professionally with big bands as pianist and arranger until he accepted the position of director of bands at Memphis State University (University of Memphis) in 1960. He was promoted to full professor in 1971 after receiving his doctor of philosophy in music theory from the Eastman School of Music. Tom left Memphis in 1978 and became professor of music and director of jazz studies at ASU where he remained until May 1981. He left teaching and moved to Las Vegas to pursue a career as a professional musician where he was the pianist at several strip hotels. He has played in Europe, Saudi Arabia, the Philippines, Australia, and Japan. He appeared on Jazz at the Four Queens Hotel for a number of years with numerous artists. In 1988, Tom returned to teaching at the College of Southern Nevada, serving as coordinator of music, chair of the Fine Arts Department, and chair of the Performing Arts Department until his retirement in June 2008. Tom served as president of the International Association of Jazz Educators (1976-1978) and was appointed to the Jazz Panel of the National Endowment for the Arts in 1976 for a four year term. He continued to perform and tour until he suffered a stroke in 2010. He is survived by his wife, Trude McMahan, two daughters, five grandchildren, a sister, nephews and his dog. A celebration of Tom's life will be at 2 p.m. Monday, Sept. 16, at University United Methodist Church, 4412 S. Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas. A scholarship is being established in Tom's name for music students at the College of Southern Nevada and donations are welcome in lieu of flowers. (Source: Arizona State University Tributes: Notable Deaths & Obituaries)