R.I.P. James L. (Jim) Adams

My father-in-law Jim Adams passed away this afternoon.  He would have been 93 this October.  While it is sad to lose him, it is also joyful – he lived a great life.  His spirit was strong, but his body was done. He was sharp to the end and died peacefully at home.

Jim was an optimist.  If you asked him how he was he would shout: “TERRIFIC!.”  If a young person like his granddaughter (my daughter) told him about her new job or a trip he would exclaim “The opportunity!”

Jim was an unashamed “tax and spend liberal.”  There was no problem so big or so small that a government program could not solve it.  I got endless pleasure teasing Jim about his politics.  He always took the ribbing in stride.

I have known Jim 34 years and I have never seen him angry, mean or cruel.  At best he might have some righteous indignation about an injustice.

Jim was a people person.  He was genuinely interested in everyone he met.  He was energized by others. Even in his last year, when a stroke robbed him of most of his speech, he would greet everyone in his line of sight with a wave and a “how are you?”

Jim was a simple man and that is not an insult, but a complement.  He lived by a set of upbeat phrases.  My son recently got a tattoo with one of Grandpa’s phrases: “patience is a virtue.”  Grandpa was proud of that tattoo and made my son roll up his sleeve and show everyone he met.

Jim loved to call you up on your birthday and sing you “Happy Birthday” and hang up before you could thank him.

Jim lived life well and was a happy warrior.  He enriched everyone he touched in life.  He left the world a better place than when he entered.  Rest in peace Jimbo.