Georgia lost one of her favorite sons and most devoted advocates when Paul Adams, Jr., 87, died on June 19, 2011, after a long battle with heart disease. Born on January 13, 1924, to Paul and Dessa Adams in the rural Newton County community of Dixie, Mr. Adams was the third of four children. He was among the students at Mansfield High School that helped to build the school's gymnasium - it has since burned down - where he and his older brother, J.W., played and were a part of Mansfield's championship basketball team. He served four years in the Navy during World War II. As a gunnery instructor while stationed in San Diego, he taught members of the Naval Air Force how to shoot automatic weapons from the bubble-top canopies of Navy fighter planes. Soon after returning from the Navy he accepted a job with the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS), which combined his passion for farming and his love of his home state. For most of his career he traveled throughout Georgia auditing farms, meeting Georgians of every ilk. He was a field representative, county office manager, district director and, by the end of his career, even served briefly as acting state executive director. Mr. Adams also served as the ASCS representative on two regional boards during the Nixon Administration: the Federal Wage and Price Board and the Federal Energy Board. At home, Mr. Adams devoted much of the 32 years he spent in retirement on home improvements and gardening, his favorite pastimes. He was a member of the First United Methodist Church of Covington for more than 50 years. Mr. Adams was preceded in death by his son, Gregory Joseph Adams.
Mr. Adams is survived by his wife, Jeanne Shropshire Adams of Covington; daughter and son-in-law, Paula Jeanne and Brian Gomer of Cape Coral, FL; sons and daughters-in-law, Christopher Paul and Tina-Marie Adams of Chicago, IL, Timothy Michael and Ana Celia (Shelley) Adams of Covington; grandchildren, Anderson Adams, Susan Adams, Creighton Adams, Chelsea Gomer, Taylar Gomer, Waverly Adams, Kaline Adams; sister, Mrs. N.S. (Isable Adams) Avery of Covington; brother and sisters-in-law, J.W. and Virginia Adams of Martinez, GA, Mrs. Herman (Catherine) Adams of Covington; and several nieces and nephews.
Funeral Services for Mr. Adams will be held, Thursday, June 23, 2011, 11 A.M., at Covington First United Methodist Church with Rev. Dr. Douglas Gilreath officiating. The family will receive friends at Caldwell and Cowan Funeral Home, 3134 Floyd Street, Covington, GA, Wednesday, June 22, 2011 from 2 - 4 and 6 - 8 P.M. Flowers are accepted or donations may be made to Covington First United Methodist Church, 1113 Conyers Street, Covington, GA 30014 or Abbey Hospice, 215 Azalea Court, Social Circle, GA 30025.
