Adele Ferguson

Adele Ferguson (1924/1925 – March 3, 2015) was an American journalist for the Bremerton Sun. She was the first woman to work as a full-time reporter at the Washington State Legislature in Olympia, Washington, a position she held for 32 years.

Life and career Ferguson grew up in Minnesota as a member of a large family, the second of ten children. After the conclusion of World War II, Ferguson began working for the Bremerton Sun as a columnist, initially covering local politics and the Bremerton Police Department. Her column was titled "The Farmer's Daughter" and was published in the "women's section" of the newspaper. In 1957 she was excluded from a journalists tour on the USS Nautilus (SSN-571) nuclear-powered submarine for being a woman.

Ferguson began exclusively covering the Washington State Legislature in 1961, becoming the first full-time female reporter there for any newspaper. Over time, however, she gained a reputation for being a fierce and blunt reporter. Former Washington Secretary of State Ralph Munro once commented on her columns, saying:

In 2009 she was one of the first three people honored by the Washington State Legacy Project, which publishes detailed histories of notable Washington residents.

Personal life Ferguson was married to John Philipsen from 1946 until his death in 2005. She had been briefly married before meeting him. She had two children. Ferguson was politically a conservative, and often attracted controversy for her political opinions. She died on March 3, 2015, at the age of 90.