Obituaries

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.