John Albert Adams

John Albert Adams, 91, passed away peacefully in Richland on Friday, April 13, 2018.  He was a wonderful husband, father and grandfather who will be greatly missed.

John was born in Wood Lake, Minnesota on March 20, 1927.  After his father died when he was only 5 years old, his mother raised him and his six sisters in the tiny close-knit town.  John had very fond memories of growing up in Wood Lake, and often told stories about small-town life in the Midwest.  He excelled in basketball and football, and was always willing to show off his Wood Lake hook shot.

He left home to join the army, serving in occupied Japan as one of the first troops into Nagasaki.  After the war, John travelled west to Washington to use his aircraft maintenance training, stopped in Richland to visit and stayed for the rest of his days.  Starting as a patrolman, he worked his way up to be a Senior Health Physicist at Hanford and was a Health Physics Society Lifetime Member.  He was very proud of this accomplishment, since he barely graduated high school.  John retired early at 58, when they put a computer on his desk.

In 1952, he met the love of his life, Betty Jane Olson.  They married later that year and moved into a B house in town.  Over the next 66 years, John used his construction skills to remodel their home, leaving only a few original walls.  He always had many projects going at the same time.  They owned and remodeled different vacation properties around Diamond Lake, Washington and Yuma, Arizona.  John and Betty made many lifelong friends in both locations, and thoroughly enjoyed hosting out of town friends and relatives.

John and Betty had 3 sons, David, Rick and Jeff, between 1954 and 1961. John taught them many of his handyman skills, how to find yard sale treasures, and how to appreciate a classic car.  He also instilled many life lessons – Safety First!, Let Things Roll off Your Back, and Never Pass Up a Good Deal. 

John was an eclectic person – he was constantly moving, thinking outside the box regarding the next project or idea.   He was willing to take on almost anything, including flipping a couple of houses with David and Mary in his 80s.  After Betty’s death in 2007, he brought the family closer together by purchasing a house on Camano Island for everyone to enjoy.

John is survived by two sons.  David lives in Richland with his wife Mary (Hoodenpyle).  Jeff resides in Seattle with his wife Barbara (Smith) and his grandchildren;  Lauren lives in Seattle and Cameron in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.  John is also survived by his sister Patricia and numerous nephews and nieces that will miss their uncle.

He was preceded in death by wife Betty and son Rick, as well as his parents John and Emelia (Jensen) Adams and five sisters: Edna Bergquist, Phyllis Carroll, Gladys Volkman Kastl, Mary Volkman and Betty Dalen.

Graveside service will be held Saturday, April 21 at 1 pm at Einan’s/Sunset Memorial Gardens cemetery in Richland.  A reception will follow at John’s house.