Billie Adams

Billie Marie Wyatt Adams, 88, passed away February 21, 2013, in a Surprise, Arizona hospital from complications following a fall at her home the week before. Billie was born in Oxford, Arkansas, August 30, 1924, to Luther and Allie Wyatt. She grew up in Oklahoma and after high school moved in with her older sister, Armilda. It was at a USO party they attended in South Carolina that Billie met the love of her life: Wallace Adams. He was soon headed to war in the European theater with the Air Force, but the two continued to correspond through the war years. Upon his return, they married and immediately moved to Venezuela where Wallace worked as a geologist for Creole Oil Company (an antecedent of ExxonMobil) and she worked as a secretary. After 7 years and the birth of two children they returned to the United States to live in southern Illinois where two more children were born. The young family of six was transferred to Durango during its first oil boom in the late 1950’s. Wallace and Billie built the home of their dreams on a knoll overlooking the Animas River and named it the Ponderosa. Along with raising her 4 children, Billie also drove her aged jeep up the college hill to Fort Lewis where she studied botany and enjoyed working in the college greenhouse. She added on a small greenhouse of her own at home, and started growing plants - in the spring selling some to other gardeners. But just a year after moving into the Ponderosa, the oil industry beckoned elsewhere again. The major oil companies were shutting down their Durango offices, and Billie and family found themselves transferred to Midland, Texas, where a new oil boom was underway. There, Billie joined the Pyracantha Garden Club and discovered a new passion: flower arranging. She studied this art in numerous courses and became president of her club and a nationally accredited flower show judge. She continued judging and updating her skills for the rest of her life. When her husband retired, the two embarked on a rich life back in Durango. Together they built a second Ponderosa home next to the original. They also built the Tercero Apartments on West 3rd, working daily on both sites. They became part of a discussion group which took on solving the issues of the world each month over carefully crafted dinners. A central part of their life at this point became reunions with Wallace’s 406th Fighter Group which had supported Patton’s 3rd Army during the invasion of Nazi held Europe. A highlight for all was retracing their European campaign in reverse - closing with the 50th anniversary of the D-Day invasion on the beaches of Normandy. In the decade since her husband’s death, Billie has continued to spend her summers at the Ponderosa in Durango and her winters in Surprise, Arizona. She has been an active member of the Washington Garden Club of Phoenix and the Animas Valley Garden Club of Durango. She judged flowers and arrangements in county fairs in western Colorado and northern New Mexico. Just last year, she was proud to judge at the La Plata County Fair. Among other interests, she has avidly attended meetings regarding construction of a bike path along the Animas River. Billie Adams is survived by her four daughters: Caroni Adams of Durango; Melda (Tim Garfield) Adams of Kingwood, Texas; Whitney (Bill) Hawley of Moab, Utah, and Isabelle “Marty” Schueller of Durango. She is survived by 8 grandchildren: Tina Crowdes of Durango and Sandie (Mark) Driscoll of Weston, MA; Tamara Garfield at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas; Matthew Garfield of Dallas, Texas; Terrance Hawley of Salem, Oregon; Jenna Hawley of Salt Lake City, Utah; Louis Schueller at Stanford University in California and Brooke Schueller at Tulane University in New Orleans. Great grandchildren include Samantha and Mark Driscoll of Weston, MA and Collin Crowdes of Durango. Billie was preceded in death by her parents, her sister Armilda Chaney, and her husband Wallace Wayne Adams. Billie will be remembered as a tireless worker who brought endless energy to the twin goals of raising her family and creating a welcoming home they could all return to. Recently Billie told her children: “Don’t cry for me when I die. I have lived life to the fullest and I am ready when it is my time to go.” Services are 2 p.m. Saturday, March 2, 2013, at the First Presbyterian Church of Durango, with interment following at Greenmount Cemetery.