James Edward Adams "Jim" entered in the gates of heaven on March 23, 2026. He was surrounded by family, God's love and peace. He joins his parents, Dr. John and Alice Adams, in heaven along with several dogs, Roxy, Tanner, Guillan and his first dog Texas. He was born on July 31, 1946 to Dr. John and Alice (Sample) Adams. He is survived by his son Michael James Adams, daughter Michelle Adams Hensley, son-in-law Shawn Hensley and his former wife, Elizabeth (Putnam) Adams. He is also survived by his brothers John and Jerry, their wives Judy and Karen and his nieces Christina, Alecia, Sarah, Emily and Laura.

At the age of nine Jim moved from Ames, Iowa to Temple, Texas, where he graduated high school and went on to pursue a B.S. at Texas A&M University. In his younger years he loved bird hunting, a skill that harkened back to his years in high school and college when he was a member of the Boy Scout Explorers and Texas A&M rifle teams. Jim loved to tell the story of being the first graduate from Texas A&M's Nuclear Engineer Program. Given his unique credentials it was perhaps not surprising that immediately following graduation Jim was personally recruited by Admiral Rickover, the Father of the US Nuclear Navy, to join our nation's nuclear submarine force. Stationed out of Charleston SC, he served his time as a lieutenant on the USS Lafayette, the first of its class of nuclear ballistic missile submarines. If you had the opportunity over the last 10 years to drive by his house, you would have seen a prominent sign over the garage honoring his time in the Navy. Following his service in the navy Jim joined General Electric where he helped to build and certify our country's growing fleet of commercial nuclear power plants. The later half of Jim's career was spent in Richland Washington working on a permanent solution for disposal of nuclear waste, retiring in 2016. Jim took great pride in both navy and civilian roles, always asking tough questions and demanding the best from himself and his colleagues. Jim was also very proud of his children. His son, Michael, followed in his footsteps, graduating with a Bachelors in Electrical Engineering from the University of Idaho, and his daughter, Michelle, who pursued a degree in nursing to become a Registered Nurse. Jim enjoyed being a father but also took great pride and cherished his brothers and their families. He was always happy to hear about what was going on in their lives.

Jim had an absolute love of dogs and their walks around the parks of Richland and Kennewick. The cars were always covered in fur as the dogs were always with him. Jim enjoyed working on his home and yard, building a new deck or working on extensive landscape projects, after all he was an engineer. His favorite leisure activities were shooting pool, playing bridge and relaxing in the hot tub at the end of the day. Jim enjoyed his final days at a memory care home where he would talk shop with the men and occasionally flirt with the ladies.

Jim will be missed by his family but we know that he is watching over us, and his landscaping. We miss you Dad.

Jim will be laid to rest in Texas with his parents. There will be a Memorial to remember Jim at his Richland home.