Reg Ferguson received Papal honour Pro Ecclesiae et Pontifice in 2009 and a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2014.

The awards acknowledged his contribution as a board member, fundraiser, supporter and volunteer at Lourdes Hospital, St Mary's Villa (formerly Ozanam Villa), St Vincent de Paul Society and the St Brigid's and St Laurence's Catholic churches.

Mr Ferguson said the Catholic Church had played an important role in the development of Dubbo.

"It has been responsible for providing care to a great many people," he said.

"I look forward to attending sesquicentenary celebrations in coming months just as I took pleasure in being involved in activities when the parish commemorated its centenary 50 years ago.

"The 150th anniversary of St Brigid's Parish is an opportunity for the whole community to come together for a milestone event."

Mr Ferguson came to Dubbo from Orange in 1948 as a 14-year-old school boy.

"My mother was sick with asthma and had been advised to relocate to a drier climate," he said.

"The move to Dubbo worked out well and my mother lived to be 95."

Mr Ferguson completed his education at the De La Salle College in Dubbo and obtained a job at a stock and station agency called Cadell and Co.

Eager for career advancement and a change of scene, he moved to Sydney and worked for the city council at town hall for several years.

Mr Ferguson returned to Dubbo to work for radio station 2DU in 1952.

"I was very interested in sports broadcasting and would travel to race meetings all over country NSW," he said.

"Broadcasting from special events was a big part of radio in those early days and 2DU was always in attendance wherever the White Rose Orchestra was playing."

"Radio was an exciting medium but the outside broadcasting equipment was very bulky and heavy. I remember hefting it in and out of an old Commer van and spending hours on the road."

Mr Ferguson was involved in the administration of the radio station for 49 years and held the positions of office manager, accountant, company secretary, station manager and general manager.

"Community involvement and the Catholic faith have always been a big part of my life," he said.

"I became involved with Lourdes Hospital at the inaugural meeting of the board and was appointed first secretary. I am the only living member of the original board."

Lourdes House, as it was known in those early days, opened as a home for the aged in 1958.Owned and managed by the Catholic Diocese of Bathurst, Lourdes was staffed by the Daughters of Charity, lovingly known as the aeroplane nuns because of their distinctive headwear shaped like aeroplane wings.

"The nuns used to scout around the streets of Dubbo to find homeless and aged men who often slept rough under the bridge," Mr Ferguson said.

"Lourdes later became a hospital and a highly regarded as a centre of excellence for rehabilitation and palliative care."