Louise Adams
COLUMBIA — Louise Adams dedicated her life to putting others first. Raising 10 children under one roof, she and her husband only spent one year with no teenagers in the house before their 50-year anniversary.
Mrs. Adams had five children of her own, but she raised her brother and sister when their parents passed away. She also took custody of her daughter’s three children after she was killed in a car accident in 1971.
Her son, James Adams, said she was constantly sacrificing for the children. “I can remember her doing without, so I could have a bicycle,” he said. “Her life was about overcoming obstacles.”
Mrs. Adams survived polio at age 3, but spent the rest of her life with some physical limitation. As her son recalls, because Mrs. Adams couldn’t drive a car with manual transmission, she didn’t get her driver’s license until 1959, when automatic transmission vehicles became available. James Adams and his mother ended up receiving their driver’s licenses on the same day.
Mrs. Adams died on Friday, July 18, 2008, at The Bluffs assisted living facility. She was 94.
She was born April 23, 1914, in Galesburg, Ill., to Worthington and Trecia May Brown Hane.
She attended Hardin College in Mexico, Mo. She graduated in 1935 and married James R. Adams on May 11, 1935. In 1939, they moved to Columbia.
James Adams said his mother was a published writer, having various articles and poems published in magazines. She was also a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the League of Women Voters. She worked for several years as a fundraiser for her church and translated hymns from German to English. She was also a long-time Eastern Star member. Mrs. Adams was named Polio Mother of the Year in 1958.
She is survived by two sons, James K. Adams of Mexico, Mo., and Jack J. Adams of Lake Saint Louis; one daughter, Rosemary Wilhelm of Jefferson City; eight grandchildren, Russell G. Murray of Columbia, Aileen Edmonds of Avon, Ind., Jeff Adams of Columbia, Carolina Doney of Grand Rapids, Mich., Jack J. Adams Jr. of St. Charles, Whitney M. Adams of Mexico, Mo., Madison Kelsey Adams of Lake Saint Louis, and Erik J. Adams of Mexico, Mo.
Two daughters, Patricia Ann Adams and Betty Louise Danley, died earlier.
Visitation will be from 3 to 5 p.m. on Sunday at Memorial Funeral Home, 1217 Business Loop 70 W.. Services will be at 2:30 p.m. on Monday at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 904 Old 63 S. Burial will follow in Memorial Park Cemetery.
Memorials and contributions may be sent to The National Republican Party, c/o Memorial Funeral Home, 1217 Business Loop 70 West, Columbia, MO 65202. Online tributes may be posted at memorialfuneralhomeandcemetery.com.
