Geneva S. Adams, 88, passed away November 8, 2005, at Brookdale Foxwood Springs, Raymore, MO. Visitation will be held from 2-4 p.m. Sunday, November 13, at the McGilley & George Funeral Home, Belton Chapel, 611 Chestnut. Funeral services will be held Monday, November 14, at 10 a.m., at the South Haven Baptist Church, 16800 Bel Ray Blvd., Belton, MO. Burial will follow at the Belton Cemetery. Contributions in memory of Geneva may be made to the South Haven Baptist Church Library or to the Salvation Army. Geneva was born on November 14, 1916, in Benton County, MO, to Walter and Edith (Breshears) Shinn. She was the last surviving child of the family that also included four brothers and two sisters. On June 22, 1940, she married George H. Adams, who preceded her in death in 1986. After graduating from Warsaw (MO) High School, Geneva taught in rural Benton County, MO public schools. Following her marriage to George, she devoted herself to her family and home. Later, she returned to Central Missouri State College, where she received both her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Education. She pursued post-graduate studies in library science at Texas Woman's University. She returned to teaching in 1954 and later became high school librarian in the Belton Public Schools, where she worked until 1964. From 1964-80, she was librarian in the Lee's Summit Senior High School. Geneva's professional memberships included the National Education Association, Missouri State Teachers Association, American Library Association, American Association of School Librarians, and Missouri Library Association, serving as School Library Division Chairman 1964-65. She was a trustee of the Belton Municipal Library Board. Geneva helped organize and was a charter member of the Belton chapter of the American Association of University Women and served as president in 1963. She was a member and Sunday School teacher at the First Baptist Church in Belton for many years and later became a member of the South Haven Baptist Church where she also taught Sunday School. Throughout her life, Geneva was devoted to her family, steadfast in her faith, and committed to the power of reading and education. After retirement, she dedicated herself to realizing her dream of establishing a library for the South Haven Baptist Church. Geneva is survived by three children: daughter, Diana G. Davis and her husband Wm. Howard, Topeka, KS; a son, Wesley G. Adams and his wife Diana K., Overland Park, KS; and daughter, Kathleen L. Alshouse and her husband Howard B., Leawood, KS; five grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. She will be lovingly remembered and greatly missed by all her family. (Arr: McGilley & George Funeral Home, 611 Chestnut, Belton, MO 64012 (816) 322-2995)
Published in the Kansas City Star on 11/11/2005.