Richard "Dick" Oscar Adams

Richard "Dick" Oscar Adams passed away March 10, 2018, after a short illness. He was born on September 12, 1920 in Greenfield MA, and grew up there and in Meriden CT, before moving when he was nine to Manchester NH. He graduated from Manchester Central in 1937. During WWII, Dick served in Germany as a communications officer in the US Army. When the war ended, he entered UNH, was a member of Phi Kappa Phi, and finished his degrees in chemical engineering, while minoring in physics and mathematics. He made his way through college driving to ski areas in an old Army truck and selling coffee, cocoa, and tea to skiers, before becoming a teaching assistant. While teaching at UNH, and working on his doctorate, he was recruited in 1951 by Standard Oil to join their research division in Linden NJ. He worked for Esso/Exxon until 1982, moving to the marketing coordination department at 30 Rock in NYC, as part of the team that put a tiger in your tank, created the name Exxon, and brought you the first canopied, self-serve gas station. It was at UNH that he met the love of his life, Janice Cooper Adams. They married in 1947 and when Dick started with Esso, they moved from Durham NH to Roselle NJ, then to Cranford NJ. In 1954, Janice and her sister Jane Cooper Fall took over as directors of Camp Idlepines in Strafford NH. Dick would spend every other summer weekend for 35 years at Idlepines until he retired, where he will be forever known as Uncle Dick to nearly one thousand campers and counselors. After retirement, he and his wife divided their time between Camp Idlepines, where they made their summer home, and in Winter Springs FL. In 2006, they took a cottage at Heritage Heights in Concord NH, and split each year between there and Idlepines. He loved to play tennis, ski, and sail, growing experimental roses for Jackson & Perkins, baking bread, and doing the NY Times crossword puzzles in ink. He loved travelling and advising Exxon affiliates around the world, often accompanied by his wife, making lifelong friends in England, Denmark, and Norway. He loved Camp Idlepines, his dog Mac, his three daughters and his six grandchildren, of whom he was very proud.Dick was predeceased by his wife Janice, who he cared for over 13 years before she died in 2013. He is survived by his sister Phyllis Adams of Manchester NH;  daughter Debi Johnston and her husband Fred of St. Helena SC; daughter Susi Swann and her husband Allen of Casselberry FL; and daughter Jennifer Adams of Keene NH; his six grandchildren: Ian Johnston of Naples, Italy; Garth Johnston of Amersham, England; Emily Johnston of London, England; Alec Johnston of Beverly Hills CA; Taylor Swann of Denver CO; and Zach Swann of Maitland FL; and five great-grandchildren in England and Italy. At his request, there will be no formal service. Donations may be made in Richard's name to the Salvation Army of Concord, NH, 58 Clinton Street, Concord, NH 03301.