WINTHROP -- Kathleen I. Adams, 85, a resident of Heritage Rehabilitation and Living Center, Winthrop, where she was an Alzheimer's patient, died early Sunday morning, Jan. 21, 2007.

Kathleen was a former resident of East Madison. She was born Sept. 9, 1921, in Presque Isle, the daughter of James E. and Clara (Turner) Brown. She attended school in Presque Isle and graduated from Madison High School.

On Oct. 28, 1939, in Solon, she married Linwood P. Adams. Mr. Adams passed away in 1994.

Kathleen was a homemaker and mom. At one time, she picked apples at Sally's Orchard and had worked at Solon Manufacturing. Kathleen was a member of the Skowhegan Church of the Nazarene and later attended the Leeds Church of the Nazarene.

She enjoyed her vegetable and flower gardens; loved to bake bread, biscuits and pies; and was an avid picture taker. She was an excellent seamstress. When her children were young, she would look in the Sears catalog and say, "I can make that outfit," and she did. In later years, she made bridal party gowns for Mary's Bridal Shop in Madison and altered clothing on request.

She played the guitar and harmonica, sometimes both at the same time. She enjoyed singing in the church or around the house. She was a Sunday school teacher for 40 years and helped with children's church. She was always meticulously making posters for all kinds of church functions. She wrote many poems and often sang them to a familiar tune.

She would be found playing games with her children and grandchildren and be heard saying, "It's okay if we're playing by my rules, as long as we're following the same rules." She always enjoyed traveling with her family. She never tired of bowling at the Wilton bowling alley. She spent many hours doing jigsaw, word search and crossword puzzles. She was always laughing, with tears running down her face so much that she could hardly finish her story.

She is survived by a son, Linwood P. Adams Jr. and his wife, Doris "Dottie," of Wilton; three daughters, Maribeth Burnham and her husband, Melvin, of Leeds, Janet Boulgier and her husband, Wilfred, of North Monmouth and Karen Morrell and her husband, Tom, of Embden; a brother, Maynard Brown and his wife, Miriam, of Madison; three sisters, Madeline Emerson of Groveton, N.H., Verla Hutchinson of Shreveport, La., and Clarice Dunlop of Skowhegan; special friend Nelson King of Leeds; and 12 grandchildren,15 great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren.

She was predeceased by her parents; grandson Steve Chase; great-granddaughter Taylor Pelotte; and a brother, Clayton Brown.

Funeral services will be held 2 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 24, at Church of the Nazarene, East Madison Road, Skowhegan. The family will meet for a reception at the fellowship hall at the church following the service. Arrangements by Bragdon-Finley Funeral Home, 707 Main St., Monmouth. Interment will be in the spring at Evergreen Cemetery, River Road, Solon.

If desired, contributions may be made to Maine Alzheimer's Association Inc., 163 Lancaster St., Suite 160 B, Portland, ME 04101; Hospice Volunteers of Kennebec Valley, 150 Dresden Ave., Gardiner, ME 04345; and Skowhegan Church of the Nazarene, P.O. Box 513, Skowhegan, ME 04976. Messages of condolence may be sent to the family at [email protected]


Published in Kennebec Journal on Jan. 23, 2007