MATTHEW T. ADAMS

 
MATTHEW THORNTON ADAMS  (Age 80)  Tax Lawyer  
Matthew Thornton Adams (Matt) of Arlington, VA died on April 18, 2013, in Arlington. Matt grew up in Manhattan and on his ancestral farm, Dunlora, outside of Charlottesville,VA. The farm was what remained of a grant to the family from King George II of England in 1730, and originally included all of what was to become Albemarle County. Matt was proud of being named for one of his ancestors, Matthew Thornton, who signed the Declaration of Independence. Matt graduated from Deerfield Academy, Stanford University (B.A.), Yale Law School (L.L.B.), and New York University (L.L.M. in Taxation). Matt married Mary Fales Masland in 1966, and in 1967 the newlyweds moved to the DC area, settling after a few years in Arlington. He worked with Coopers & Lybrand twice, and once with the Office of Tax Legislative Counsel of the U.S. Treasury Department, before becoming a partner in three D.C. law firms. He eventually retired as a partner from McDermott Will & Emery on December 31, 2000.Matt was a long-time member of Washington Golf & Country Club in Arlington, where he formerly was a frequent golfer. More recently he played bridge there and at The University Club of DC, where he had been a member since 1968. Matt bore with the greatest grace the increasing indignities of his declining physical health, while his amazing mind stayed brilliant until the end.No memorial service is planned. In addition to his wife, survivors include two sons, Christopher (Joanne) of Orlando, FL, and Gordon (Jennifer) of Haverford, PA, and five grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Deerfield Academy, Deerfield,MA or the Arlington-Alexandria Coalition for the Homeless (AACH), 3103 N. 9th Rd., Arlington, VA 22201.