Obituary for Stephen Ernest Adams
Stephen Ernest Adams Obituary
January 11, 2022
Stephen Ernest Adams, 65, passed away July 6, 2021 five years after being diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer.
Steve was born in Honolulu, Hawaii to Carrie Louise McDonald Adams and Ernest Oliver Adams. Ernest served in the U.S. Navy for many years, and the family moved several times until settling permanently in Pensacola, Florida when Steve was seven years old.
Carrie and Ernest both hailed from southern Mississippi and Steve grew up within a loving extended family. He spent many summers as a boy on relative’s farms, close to his cousins, aunts & uncles, and grandparents.
Steve graduated from Escambia High School in 1973 and then attended University of Southern Mississippi, where he graduated in 1981 with a B.A. English (with Honors), and a minor in Secondary Education. Steve taught at Choctawhatchee High School in Fort Walton Beach from 1981 to 1997. He was a beloved teacher, as his colleague Linda Evanchyk writes:
“Steve’s love of words and literature appealed to students on all academic levels. In addition to teaching English, Steve also taught drama and a journalism class that produced the school yearbook. For several years, through a community education night school program, he taught ESL classes.
“Beyond his classroom duties Steve was the sponsor of the Key Club, coached the Choctaw Academic Team, and sponsored Wordsmiths, a club for student writers.
“In 1995 Steve was selected as Choctaw High School Teacher of the Year. He left Choctaw at the end of the 1996-1997 school year and remained in touch with many colleagues and students. Many of his former students have commented on his sense of humor, his love of poetry, and his impact on their education and lives. One of the most noted rituals Steve had was his posting of a quote on the classroom board each day, which often prompted enthusiastic discussion among his students. That was the heart of Steve's teaching — the exchange of ideas and the sharing of the love of words.”
In 1997, Steve and his former wife Margaret “Candy” Adams moved to Lopez Island, WA where he spent the rest of his life. He taught at Lopez School for several years, and after retiring from teaching Steve worked as a full-time writer, as head of marketing for an audio software company, and then as a professional gardener, the position he held until his diagnosis with metastatic cancer in 2016.
In 2005 Steve married Adrienne Rice. In 2016 they purchased their land on Lopez (which they christened “Nettlewood,”), a dream come true for both of them. The land offered solace and good work for both of them as Steve’s illness progressed.
Steve was very active in the recovery community in Florida and on Lopez for over thirty years, finding and sharing strength and hope in fellowship with innumerable people.
He loved the outdoors and spent time there whenever he could. From canoeing the clear creeks of the Florida Panhandle, swimming in the Gulf, to camping in the redwoods of California and hiking the North Cascades of Washington State, to his beloved home on Lopez Island, Steve was always at home in the natural world.
Steve was a man of deep generosity and kindness, always eager to help a friend and to share whatever he had. He had a habit of pressing a book into someone’s hands, encouraging the reader to explore something that he had discovered. Steve said, “Literature changed me, creating, as much as any other force in my life, the man who sits here now.” Steve ‘s deep appreciation and respect for the written word was reflected in his extensive writing, whether it was his fiction, poetry, or famously substantial correspondence.
He expressed great joy and gratitude for life, or as he would often conclude in a note or an email: “This Life! This World!”
Steve was preceded in death by his parents, Carrie and Ernest. He is survived by his wife Adrienne, his sisters Judy Sumlin and Sandra Parmely, their spouses, children, and grandchildren, and many cousins.
A memorial is being planned for 2022. Gifts of remembrance may be made to Wolf Hollow Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, Whatcom Hospice Foundation, or People’s Memorial Association.
January 11, 2022
Stephen Ernest Adams, 65, passed away July 6, 2021 five years after being diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer.
Steve was born in Honolulu, Hawaii to Carrie Louise McDonald Adams and Ernest Oliver Adams. Ernest served in the U.S. Navy for many years, and the family moved several times until settling permanently in Pensacola, Florida when Steve was seven years old.
Carrie and Ernest both hailed from southern Mississippi and Steve grew up within a loving extended family. He spent many summers as a boy on relative’s farms, close to his cousins, aunts & uncles, and grandparents.
Steve graduated from Escambia High School in 1973 and then attended University of Southern Mississippi, where he graduated in 1981 with a B.A. English (with Honors), and a minor in Secondary Education. Steve taught at Choctawhatchee High School in Fort Walton Beach from 1981 to 1997. He was a beloved teacher, as his colleague Linda Evanchyk writes:
“Steve’s love of words and literature appealed to students on all academic levels. In addition to teaching English, Steve also taught drama and a journalism class that produced the school yearbook. For several years, through a community education night school program, he taught ESL classes.
“Beyond his classroom duties Steve was the sponsor of the Key Club, coached the Choctaw Academic Team, and sponsored Wordsmiths, a club for student writers.
“In 1995 Steve was selected as Choctaw High School Teacher of the Year. He left Choctaw at the end of the 1996-1997 school year and remained in touch with many colleagues and students. Many of his former students have commented on his sense of humor, his love of poetry, and his impact on their education and lives. One of the most noted rituals Steve had was his posting of a quote on the classroom board each day, which often prompted enthusiastic discussion among his students. That was the heart of Steve's teaching — the exchange of ideas and the sharing of the love of words.”
In 1997, Steve and his former wife Margaret “Candy” Adams moved to Lopez Island, WA where he spent the rest of his life. He taught at Lopez School for several years, and after retiring from teaching Steve worked as a full-time writer, as head of marketing for an audio software company, and then as a professional gardener, the position he held until his diagnosis with metastatic cancer in 2016.
In 2005 Steve married Adrienne Rice. In 2016 they purchased their land on Lopez (which they christened “Nettlewood,”), a dream come true for both of them. The land offered solace and good work for both of them as Steve’s illness progressed.
Steve was very active in the recovery community in Florida and on Lopez for over thirty years, finding and sharing strength and hope in fellowship with innumerable people.
He loved the outdoors and spent time there whenever he could. From canoeing the clear creeks of the Florida Panhandle, swimming in the Gulf, to camping in the redwoods of California and hiking the North Cascades of Washington State, to his beloved home on Lopez Island, Steve was always at home in the natural world.
Steve was a man of deep generosity and kindness, always eager to help a friend and to share whatever he had. He had a habit of pressing a book into someone’s hands, encouraging the reader to explore something that he had discovered. Steve said, “Literature changed me, creating, as much as any other force in my life, the man who sits here now.” Steve ‘s deep appreciation and respect for the written word was reflected in his extensive writing, whether it was his fiction, poetry, or famously substantial correspondence.
He expressed great joy and gratitude for life, or as he would often conclude in a note or an email: “This Life! This World!”
Steve was preceded in death by his parents, Carrie and Ernest. He is survived by his wife Adrienne, his sisters Judy Sumlin and Sandra Parmely, their spouses, children, and grandchildren, and many cousins.
A memorial is being planned for 2022. Gifts of remembrance may be made to Wolf Hollow Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, Whatcom Hospice Foundation, or People’s Memorial Association.