Donald Ernest Adams

Published 11:08 pm Tuesday, June 6, 2017

January 28th, 1923 – May 29, 2017

Donald Ernest Adams, of Redmond, Oregon, died peacefully of natural causes, at home on May 29, 2017, at the age of 94. He is survived by his 96 year old brother, Hugh Stanley Adams, and was preceded in death by his wife, Patricia Adams; son, Donald Phillip Adams; and significant other, Dorotha Sakrison.

Don was born on January 28th, 1923, to Hugh and Mary Adams and lived in the Portland area for most of his life. He graduated Grant High School, married Patricia Ambrose on September 4, 1942, and enlisted in the US Army in 1943, serving as a Staff Sargent in Europe during World War II. After the war, he worked for Portland Woolen Mills and parlayed this into a career as an independent manufacturer’s representative for the textile industry in the 1960s. Don was a very accomplished businessman and always appeared to enjoy his work like he enjoyed life.

Part of enjoying life for Don was becoming an accomplished golfer, which included: seven holes in one, becoming president of the Portland Golf Club in 1994, president of the Oregon Senior Golf Association in 2000, and a member of the Juniper Golf Club of Redmond, OR. His granddaughter, Tracy, still has a number of his handmade clubs in her bag, which she credits for her long drives (wild as they may be).

Don and Patricia had three children, Mary Jane Donaldson, Patricia Ann Brush and Donald Phillip Adams, who added five grandchildren to the family, Amy Hill, Tracy Wellington, Timothy Brush, and Jonathan and Christopher Adams. Jonathan Adams added two great grandchildren, Mena and Mason; and Amy Hill added one great grandchild, Cameron.

Don will be remembered as the most loving, supportive, and unstoppably positive person we know – a true inspiration to ALL who knew him. He was a loving husband, caring father, amazing grandfather and someone we will all remember and look up to as we proceed through life. Ultimately, we are all grateful and blessed that we were able to have him in our lives for as long as we did.

Contributions can be made to The First Tee of Greater Portland: 19825 River Road, Gladstone, Oregon 97027.

Service Location/time: 2:00pm, June 24th at the Redmond Community Church.