Robert Adams Obituary

Adams
Robert James Adams
July 4, 1939
June 25, 2023

Robert "Bob" James Adams passed away on June 25, 2023 at Pardee Hospital in Hendersonville, NC from complications due to pneumonia. Bob was born on the Fourth of July in Colorado Springs, CO, to Alan James Adams and Margaret Virginia Adams, making him a second-generation Colorado native. He was the second of their four children, with sisters Esther Irene Adams and Margaret Ann Lyman, followed by brother John Alan Adams.
Bob attended Garfield Grade School, North Jr. High, and graduated from Colorado Springs High School in 1957, two years before it was renamed to William J. Palmer High School. After graduation, Bob joined the US Navy and was sent to Honolulu, HI for two years where he worked at the Fleet Post Office. He later served aboard the aircraft carrier USS Hancock (CV-19), learning lessons and gaining amusing anecdotes that he would forever share with his kids (just don't ask about the "helicopter story").
After leaving the Navy, Bob returned to Colorado Springs to begin his career in real estate, building houses and eventually working at Stewart Title and Land Title Co. It was at this time that Bob, always a fan of fast cars, acquired his automotive pride and joy, a 1962 Corvette. Bob often drove his 'vette to the Continental Divide Raceway near Castle Rock CO, usually as a spectator and a few times as a racer. He would also drive the 'vette to Greeley CO where his sister Ann was a student at Colorado State College. There he met Ann's friend, Angelina "Angie" Marie Chimenti.
In 1963 Bob married Angie in Albuquerque, NM. Bob and Angie returned to Colorado Springs where they first lived in a small garage apartment downtown, then moved into a brand new home in the Vista Grande subdivision. They later returned to the historic North End, to raise a family only a mile from where Bob grew up. They had two sons, Robert Mark Adams and Joseph Trent Adams. Both kids followed in Bob's footsteps to attend North Jr. and graduated from the Colorado Springs School before leaving Colorado to explore their respective careers. Bob and Angie were divorced in 1994.
Bob was always fascinated with the Southwest, making constant pilgrimages to New Mexico, spending a lot of time in Taos and Santa Fe (where he was a Sante Fe Opera season ticket-holder). He also had a life-long love of flyfishing and Bob would frequently be found tying his own flies or on the banks of a tranquil river trying to use (but often losing) those same flies.
In 1996 Bob married artist Laurie Yeates in Colorado Springs. Bob welcomed Laurie's children from her previous marriages, Brittany Morgan Keeler and Taylor James W. Yeates, into his life and was honored to be part of an extended family. They lived variously in the North End, downtown Colorado Springs, and Black Forest where he and Laurie kept horses. Bob's horse was a beautiful palomino he called Zia. Although keeping horses is hard work, he loved life on the ranch and enjoyed taking long rides in the open country with Laurie and Brittany. They eventually traded ranch life for lake life when they moved to Buckhead, GA.
Bob and Laurie then moved to Hendersonville NC in 2017 to be near Laurie's family in Asheville, NC. While in Hendersonville, Bob spent his retirement making frames for Laurie's paintings and creating inventive fairy gardens to hide in the backyard for the children of Brittany and her husband Kyle. He was continually tinkering in his basement workshop, tying flies and adding to his collection of WWII model planes, highlighting the details using his newly-found skills with an airbrush.
Bob is survived by his loving wife, two siblings, two sons, two step-children, and 7 grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his sister Esther who died earlier this year.
To celebrate Bob's life, his love of Colorado, and the power of horses to make a difference in people's lives, please consider donating to the Flying Horse Foundation. They help to advance the physical, emotional and spiritual well-being of at-risk youth, families and seniors in the community. https://www.flyinghorsefoundation.org/