There was standing room only last Saturday at Heritage Presbyterian Church. So beloved was John “Jack” Chauncey Adamson that a crowd of more than 350 people attended services held there in his memory.
Adamson was born on Feb. 13, 1944 and died of colon cancer on Nov. 14, 2005 at his home in Mount Vernon. He was 61 years old when he died. He had been a Navy helicopter pilot and later became a principal with Booz Allen Hamilton.
Adamson graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1968 and then spent 20 years in the Navy, part of that time as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam. He settled in Fairfax County in 1983 and retired from the Navy five years later with the rank of Commander.
From 1988 until his death, Adamson worked on contracts with the Navy and Marine Corps for Booz Allen Hamilton in McLean.
Adamson was born in Waynesburg, Pa. In 1982, he received a master’s degree in international relations from Salve Regina University in Newport, R.I.
Before the service, Andrew Adamson said of his father, “He had a long fight and all the while kept a smile on his face. He was the embodiment of faith and while facing terminal illness he continued to be a light of hope. He eased our worries more than we could ease his. He purposefully lived everyday of his life with dignity and compassion.”
SPEAKING AT THE SERVICE was Admiral Ronald Lee Christensen. He said that he and Adamson graduated from the Naval Academy together and while they served in the Navy, sometimes in desperate parts of the world, they always seemed to come back together.
“There were good times and hard times, but we were always there to depend on each other,” he said.
Christensen remembered how Adamson wanted to build a vineyard so he went out and purchased a piece of property in the Shenandoah Valley. While others suggested that he tear down the farmhouse that existed on the property, Adamson instead chose to fix it up, turning it into the Hill House Vineyards.
“He loved the outdoors,” Christensen said.
In closing, Christensen asked Captain James Farley to sing "Danny Boy.”
Capt. Sandy Clark spoke about Adamson’s strong faith in God, and said, “As I watched him deal with challenging situations, he always had prayer. When he was diagnosed with cancer, he turned to prayer.”
Clark said that he and Adamson talked a lot about life’s issues.
“Jack was a great listener,” Clark said.
Adamson’s son, Andrew, said, “It makes me feel lucky — to have a father like him.”
He said that his father always took advantage of opportunities around him, especially when they were at different duty stations.
“Cancer was a tough disease but he lived life to the fullest,” said Andrew Adamson. “He seemed to take everything in stride.”
Pastor Bill Teng said, “Adamson remained a constant inspiration to people who visited him. He always shared his faith; it didn’t diminish,” Teng said.
A letter written by Adamson to a friend shortly before he died reads in part, “… And the bedrock of my faith — my confidence in our good God is bolstered by your prayers and those of the folks you fellowship in your Bible study. This underscores the most important aspect of my situation: that it’s not all about me. It’s about our good, loving powerful and sovereign God; finally friends and other believers the faith we share and watching God’s hand in all of this … “
Survivors include his wife of 36 years, Kristina “Tina” Tabb Adamson of Mount Vernon; three sons: John J. Adamson of Canton, Ga.; Matthew E. Adamson of Brooklyn, N.Y.; and Andrew Adamson of Mount Vernon; a sister, Emily Carpenter of Massey, Md.; and one grandson. In lieu of flowers, the Adamson family has requested that a donation be made to the Adamson Family Endowment at Waynesburg College, Waynesburg, PA 15370.