Lula Ferguson Amburn

Lula passed away in the early morning of October 25th, 2016. Born in Plainfield, Indiana on August 30th, 1918, she was the youngest child of William and Emma Ferguson. During the Great Depression she went to live with her eldest sister, Thelma, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She graduated from North Side High School and went to work as an underwriter for Michigan Mutual Liability Company in Fort Wayne. There she met and married her husband of 48 years, John Lee Amburn. They realized John's dream of becoming an automobile dealer and moved to Mooresville, NC and founded Amburn Pontiac - Buick in 1946. She then pursued learning the accounting process for General Motors and helped to get their new business off the ground. After 13 years in Mooresville, she and John purchased Conn Gower Pontiac on Hillsborough Street in Raleigh. She continued to work while raising their two children, Rebecca and James. In 1972 they built a new dealership on Capital Boulevard in Raleigh. With her children now grown, Lula continued to work running the dealership while also enjoying her profound passion for golf. Lula and John sold the business in 1982 and spent many years enjoying their second home in Blowing Rock, NC.

She was an avid sports lover especially her beloved Wolfpack. Besides being a great golfer, she was a member of a women’s bowling league that secured many championships in Indiana. She proudly held the women’s golf Club Championship’s at Carolina Country Club and Blowing Rock Country Club. She served on the Board of Directors for Blowing Rock Country Club, a member of Carolina Country Club and was a past member of Raleigh Fine Arts Society, a member of the NCSU Wolfpack Club and member of Edenton Street United Methodist Church.

Lula is preceded in death by her husband John. Surviving: daughter Rebecca Amburn Metcalf and her husband Doug of Fuquay-Varina, son James W. Amburn of New York, NY, granddaughters, Jan Bolick and husband Kyle of Derby, KS and Jill O’Brien and husband Kevin of Tijeras, NM.

The family wishes to thank the caregivers at Springmoor Lifetime Retirement Community where Lula resided the past 18 years. Memorial Service will be held at Springmoor, 1500 Sawmill Rd., Raleigh, NC Saturday, Oct. 29th at 11:00 am.

In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to Edenton Street United Methodist Church, 228 W. Edenton St, Raleigh, NC 27603; Springmoor Endowment Fund, 1500 Sawmill Road, Raleigh, NC 27605 and SPCA, 200 Petfinder Lane, Raleigh, NC 27603.

Arrangements by Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, Saint Mary's St., Raleigh.