Alan Bartlett (A.B.) Adams Obituary
A dancer, mountain climber and avid skier, Alan Bartlett (A.B.) Adams, age 74, died on April 14, 2023, at AdamsPlace in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. A Middle-Tennessean turned Northwestern mountain man, A.B. was happiest outside, be it an alpine meadow or double black diamond ski slope, ideally with his children.
He was born in Murfreesboro to the late Dr. Carl and Jennie Mae Adams. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a brother, Carl Adams, and a sister-in-law, Kitty (Fred) Adams. A.B was a 1967 graduate of Central High School in Murfreesboro and received a B.S. degree in Economics from Vanderbilt University in 1973 and a Master’s degree in Botany from the University of Tennessee in 1975. He attended the University of British Columbia and received his PHD in Botany from the University of Washington in 1989.
A.B. spent most of his professional career in Seattle, Washington, pursuing his passion for teaching and learning at the University of Washington. He conducted research in biology and plant pathology, but also took classes in history and languages, studying both Russian and Chinese after age 40. He was especially known for his research on the resurgence of vegetation on Mount St. Helens after the volcanic eruption in 1980 and his work on the Pacific Madrone tree.
A lover of all things outdoors, he enjoyed hiking and snow skiing with his children and friends. Whistler, Canada, was a favorite destination for A.B., and he backpacked throughout the Great Smoky Mountains and the Pacific Northwest – including the Cascade Mountains, Olympic Peninsula, and Mount Rainier. Hiking with A.B. was both fun and educational with his deep knowledge of botany and ecological systems. And he always knew where to find the best swimming holes.
A.B. took the question “how’s the weather” very seriously, often knowing more than the local meteorologists as he had his own weather station on top of his house.
A.B. relished dancing, singing, and all kinds of music. He delighted in playing the guitar, mandolin, and piano. He led several American folk music bands, playing at weddings and in dance halls throughout the Puget Sound area, and was known to drop everything to join a tango or swing dance.
A.B. considered his greatest accomplishment to be his three children: Wendy, Brooke, and Adolphus. He loved being a father to them: teaching them to ski, encouraging curiosity and vigorous debate about the world, and sharing his love of politics, history, and travel. He was an inventive storyteller, creating trolls who lived under Seattle that Wendy and her friends would battle every summer. Determined to share his love of science and the environment, A.B. helped Brooke develop a multi-week experiment to watch her food scraps decompose in milk cartons spread through their yard. And he was the biggest cheerleader and coach for Adolphus’s many sports endeavors, from nerf soccer to football. A.B. was always up for a new adventure, be it waking up at 4 am for first tracks on fresh snow at Mount Baker or making a spontaneous decision the day before Thanksgiving to decamp to the French Alps to carve champagne powder, and maybe slice up a turkey, too. Most importantly, A.B. consistently showed up and was present in the lives of his kids, from sports games and school lunches to opening night performances and graduations.
He is survived by his three children: Wendel Mae Adams (Casey O’Shea) of Alexandria, Virginia, Brooke Wenru Adams of Brooklyn, New York, and Adolphus Wen-Long Adams of Chicago, Illinois, and by three brothers: Fred (Cindy) Adams of Readyville, Tennessee, Andy (Karen) Adams and Robert (Susanne) Adams, both of Murfreesboro, and a sister Joanne (Gerald) Coggin also of Murfreesboro. He is also survived by two grandchildren, Lillias Mae O’Shea, and Virginia (Gigi) Elizabeth O’Shea of Alexandria, Virginia.
A celebration of A.B.’s life will be held at Woodfin Memorial Chapel in Murfreesboro at 3 PM on Sunday, April 30, 2023. Visitation with the family will be from 2 PM till 3 PM on that date.
A.B. leaves behind family and friends who share his appreciation of the environment, commitment to serving others, and determination to face life with optimism. His children ask that when you climb a mountain, jump off a cliff (ideally on skis) or watch a snowstorm approach, you think of A.B. and how much he relished every moment of life.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Washington Folklife (nwfolklife.org/festival/home.html), the Tennessee Native Plant Society (www.tnps.org), or Vanderbilt Memory & Alzheimer’s Center (https://www.vumc.org/vmac/donate).
The family would like to thank the residents and staff of AdamsPlace and Caris Hospice for their love and support and a special thanks to A.B.’s professional caregivers for their constant love and attention for the past 9 years.
An online guestbook for the Adams family is available at www.woodfinchapel.com.
Woodfin Memorial Chapel. (615) 893-5151.
