Andrew James Fergus

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Andrew James Fergus is the SME Foundation's 2018 Legacy Club Inductee
A Legacy of Community and Scientific Research

In 2018, The Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration Inc. (SME) Foundation was honored to recognize Andrew James Fergus (1916-2015) as a Legacy Club member. Mr. Fergus was born into a family of Montana ranching pioneers where his rural upbringing fostered a love of community, nature and science.

Mr. Fergus’ collegiate education began with an Associate degree from Billings Polytechnic Institute in Billings, Montana. He went on to serve as an assayer with North Moccasin Mines Syndicate operation at Kendall Mine in Lewiston, Montana. After relocating to Seattle to complete his Bachelors of Science in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of Washington in 1942, Mr. Fergus joined the U.S. Mining, Smelting & Refining Company at their Midvale Smelter near Salt Lake City. It was in Utah where Mr. Fergus met, and later married, Ethel Dean; the two were married in 1944, and had two children - Christopher James and Andrea Lee. The family eventually left Utah, returning to Washington State in the late 1950s when Mr. Fergus accepted an opportunity with Knob Hill Mine. Returning to Washington afforded Mr. Fergus the opportunity to serve as a researcher at Washington State University in the Department of Industrial Research, as well as maintaining a career with Boeing Aerospace Co. as a metallurgist.
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