March 27, 1932 – March 23, 2023
at the age of 90 years:
A Celebration of Life will be held Saturday, April 22, 2023 at 11am at Fischer’s Funeral Services, 4060 1 Avenue SW, Salmon Arm, BC.
Dennis passed away peacefully surrounded by family on Thursday, March 23, 2023, at his home in Salmon Arm, BC.
Born in Kelowna, BC in 1932 to parents Arthur and Grace, Dennis was an only child and lost his father at the early age of 5.
Dennis is predeceased by his parents Arthur Dennis Adams and Grace Constance Hickman (Keating). He is also predeceased by his grandson Calvin Christopher Robert Adams.
He is survived by his wife Shirley Adams and his sons Chris (Shirley), David, Grant (Karen) and his daughter Jacquie (Don). Also survived by 5 Grandchildren and 9 Great-Grandchildren
Dennis left Kelowna as a young man of 18 to head north and create his own trucking business and adventure in and around the Prince George, BC area. Wow the stories he told about those times. It is here in Prince George that he met and in 1959 married Shirley. When it was time to start a family, he became a sawmill foreman in Bear Lake, BC where he purchased a house and built a couple more. Along with his other small community giving, sharing and community building, he became known as the Mayor of Bear Lake (though there wasn’t actually a mayor). Dennis and Shirley were blessed with 4 children, all born in Prince George which was at times a nerve racking drive while living in that remote community of Bear Lake.
1970 saw a new adventure for Dennis that included packing up everyone and everything and moving to Salmon Arm, BC. He had purchased a small farm (at that time a berry farm) that had been in the McGuire family for years. Dennis’ prearranged job for when he arrived in Salmon Arm fell through and the start of his school bus driving career would take off instead. Dennis farmed and drove school bus for the next 26 years.
Dennis’ real adventure began in retirement. He had worked hard since leaving home at 18 and he was going to enjoy his retirement. In fact, he was made for retirement. He kept himself very busy having all the fun he could in his post school bus driver days. He was still an active farmer (helping others at times more than himself), he had an amazing garden and he picked up playing every sport he could fit in to his day. Dennis would make many life long friends along the way.
There is so much more to Dennis but what he was most of all, was a family man. He made sure each child had opportunities to pursue their interests and he supported them anyway he could. This support and caring and genuine interest in family carried over 10-fold into his Grand Children and then his Great-Grandchildren. He loved them so much and they loved him back.
There will be a Celebration of Life for Dennis on Saturday, April 22, 2023 – 11am at Fischer’s Funeral Service, 4060 – 1st Ave, Salmon Arm, BC.
In Lieu of flowers or other the Adams family is asking for those that can please contribute to the gofundme campaign setup in honor of Dennis Adams that is raising funds and awareness for the Salmon Arm Minor Hockey Scholarship Fund. Please follow the link below or type it into your browser. Thank you for your generosity.
https://gofund.me/3e712bd0
Our deepest condolences on the passing of Dennis. I’m glad I did get to meet him once and he had such a great personality even to a stranger like me. Such an interesting man!
We know Justin (and Taiyo) was very fond of Dennis and has told us all about him. It’s easy to see why he looked up to him and we could only hope to live life to the fullest like he did!
Kel and I are so sorry for your loss in the passing of Dennis, your husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather.
I had the pleasure of meeting Dennis once in coming to Salmon Arm but Kel didn’t have that opportunity. We felt that we knew him though through the wonderful stories Justin and Renee have told us about him. For sure he leaves behind a lot of wonderful memories for you all to cherish.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you all.
Mike and I are sending warm thoughts and prayers your way. It’s so hard to lose someone so special and there is no way to prepare yourself for the loss. I love all of you to the moon and back, we are thinking of you always. I sure wish I could be there to celebrate Denise’s life with you all.
Heart felt condolences to you all
Sending Hugs
Our condolences to the family on the loss of a great man.
He was such an important part of the Norum family. He was like a Dad to so many of us… He was an amazing man. He will be truly missed. RIP Dennis. You will never be forgotten.
We are so sorry to hear of this wonderful man’s passing… Please know we are thinking of you all at this very difficult time… Much hugs and love…
Dennis was an inspiration to all of us who knew him. We will miss his wry sense of humour and warm friendship. He loved life and lived it to the fullest. Our heartfelt condolences to his family.