Barbara Adams Deli

Barbara Ann Adams Deli February 9, 1931 – May 20, 2023
Barb, the oldest of five, was born to parents Robert Newton Adams and Dorothy Vertin Adams in the wilds of Eureka, California. Natives of Calumet, Michigan, Bob and Dorothy moved back to their extended families shortly after Barb's birth. Barb spent her life in the Upper Peninsula until meeting her future husband, Jack Deli, while attending Michigan Technological University. At the young age of 19, she married in a January snowstorm and moved to the wilds of Chicago, Il.
A few years later, Barb (and Jack) moved out to Wheaton, Il where she resided for nearly 70 years. In that time, she had 4 children in 5 years followed by a 5th a "generation" later. Oldest to youngest: Carl, (predeceased in 1974), Michael, Ann (predeceased in 2009), Jacki and Daniel. Barb welcomed the joys of grandparenthood with Ann's children, William and Luka Miller, Jacki's children, Carlyn and Matthew, and Daniel's children, Jocelyn, Carl and Owen.
A life filled with limitless love, Barb also had her share of grief. Besides the loss of her two children, she lost her beloved father in WWII, her husband Jack in 1994, mother Dorothy, sister Mary Jacobs and brother William Adams. She is survived by brothers John and Carl Adams.
Barb returned to school and earned her BA in history from Elmhurst College while raising her children. Many a night they were rocked to sleep by the sound of Barb typing papers on the dining room table. Teaching was always her passion and she embraced it for years after her graduation. She also found time to start a business decorating, creating fiber art and quilting. She expanded her already busy life to include the League of Women Voters and boots-on-the-ground political activity as a poll worker in DuPage County. Her last civic effort was teaching computer skills in a Head Start sponsored ESL class where she learned as much as she taught.
As Barb's children left the nest, Barb fixed her progressive eye on the church; St. Paul Lutheran Church in Wheaton. A Church School teacher (reading exhaustively books on theology; arguing with anyone willing to engage) member of Council, Confirmation Leader, member of Worship Committee (where her consummate skills as a quilter were well used) and bell choir member, Barb continued to make an impact and be relevant well into her 80s. It was a community where she found challenge and acceptance.
A recitation of Barb's life would be incomplete without citing Bootjack, the summer cottage on an inner lake of the Upper Peninsula, built by her mother and willed to Barb and brothers. Almost every summer of Barb's, her children's and her grandchildren's lives were spent reveling in nature at Bootjack. Barb instilled a sense of adventure and love of nature in her children and grandchildren.
Barb's was a complete life – mental and physical. Learning to swim competitively in her 30s, and ride a speed bike in her 50s, Barb competed in triathlons while cheered on by her loving husband and friends. Barb was a member of the Masters Swim Team at BR Ryall YMCA.
Barb is also survived by Michael's wife, Olivia Slavish, Ann's husband Mark Miller, Jacki's husband Rick Miller and Daniel's wife, Alison Deli and a very extended group of friends and family who loved her dearly.
Donations made in Barbara Adams Deli's name can be made to : League of Women Voters at: https://my.lwv.org/illinois/wheaton
The Memorial service for Barb will take place on September 23, 2023 at St Paul's Lutheran Church in Wheaton, IL. Time to be determined.
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