Diane Jean "Dottie" Adams

Diane "Dottie" Jean (Leonard) Adams was born on May 4, 1949, to Herman Louis and Beatrice Constance (King) Leonard. She grew up in DeTour Village and graduated from DeTour High School with the class of 1967. She was a proud member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. Her given Indian name was Gaagikwe (porcupine woman).
After a long and tumultuous journey with Pancreatic cancer, Diane went peacefully back to the Creator on October 6, 2025. She was 76 years old. Her caregivers, husband Mick, and sisters Sharon and Hermina "Sam" were with her to ease the path.
Dottie married Robert "Bob" Cronan (deceased 1989) of St. Ignace shortly after he returned home from Vietnam. They lived in St. Ignace for a short period of time then moved and settled in Wisconsin, then in Illinois.
Diane went to secretarial school in Wisconsin and later landed a job with Kenner Toy Company. While working as a secretary she crafted her skills in sales and joined Kenner's sales team. Her time in the toy industry saw trends of Star Wars, Stretch Armstrong, Care Bears, Strawberry Shortcake, Batman, Superman, and Ninja Turtles. It also brought her opportunities for travel experiences around the U.S. and to Hong Kong. She ended her successful career as an independent saleswoman and retired in 2010.
Diane met the truest form of love in her life when she became reacquainted with her second husband Michael "Mick" Adams. They had much in common, they both grew up in DeTour, were classmates and graduated together, so it was a foregone conclusion when they decided to return to DeTour to live out their retirement years entrenched in the close-knit community near their families.
Although Diane had no children of her own, she was blessed with inheriting them in her second marriage to Mick. Her passion and care for Cari, Jason (Chrissy) and her grandchildren, Allison and Ryan, were always a part of her joys shared in conversation. She also celebrated the bond and friendship with Jason and Carrie's mother Paula, stating "she's been a blessing".
Diane lived an intentionally passionate and full life of loving and making the most of every moment. Her deepest friendships were within her family, and her safe place was with her sisters. Every family member was a "favorite" to her. She soaked up the moments immersed in celebrating family life events and she always stepped up when there was a need for added support.
In particular, she was all in for annual family reunion camping weekends at Trout Lake. This was evidenced by the choice to join her life with Mick by marrying at one of the reunions on August 2nd, 1997, with a great majority of their family members surrounding them. Diane and Mick celebrated twenty-eight years of marriage, and a life well lived together.
Dottie loved being near the water, working puzzles, playing scrabble, cards, or games with Mick or her sisters, watching a good movie, listening to books on tape, thrifting, making old things new or repurposing them, entertaining guests, celebrating any and all family life events, camp fires, watching for shooting stars, a good glass of dark red wine, or a rich cup of morning coffee, soups, bath soaks, sitting on their porch looking out over the harbor and shipping channel, and relaxing in her cozy bed. She enjoyed music from the 50's, 60's, 70's, to include the Vietnam era, Gordon Lightfoot, Elvis, the Beatles, Neil Young, and Roy Orbison to name a few.... and dancing to all of it!
She lived through: the Korean War (1959), the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962), the assassination of John F. Kennedy, president (1963), the ending of segregation and the passing of the Civil Rights Act (1964), the first U.S. moon landing, with the Apollo 11 mission (1969), the Watergate scandal and resignation of President Richard Nixon (1970), the ending of the Vietnam War (1975), the demise of the Edmund Fitzgerald, which sank in a storm near Whitefish Point on Lake Superior (1975), the rise of personal computers (1980's), the fall of the Berlin wall (1989), the dissolving of the Soviet Union, ending the Cold War (1991), the Gulf War (1991), the death of princess Diana of Whales (1997), the impeachment of President Bill Clinton (1998), the U.S. invasion of Iraq (2003), a global financial crisis that led to a recession in the U.S. (2007-08), the rise of social media platforms (2010), the Paris Agreement to address climate change (2015), the Covid 19 pandemic (2020), the invasion of Ukraine by Russia (2022), the rise of the internet and digital technologies, out houses to indoor plumbing, black and white television to color, operated assisted telephones-to digital dial and push button-to cell phones, and much to her dismay the second election of Donald Trump as president. With all of these impactful global events, it was no wonder that she became very passionate about her convictions regarding the political climate in the United States.
Two of Diane's greatest life passions were traveling and exploring new places and experiences with her life companion, Mick. Those adventures usually took place near large bodies of water which landed their winter stays on the Gulf and Atlantic Coastlines.
Other spirit-filling moments for her were times spent engaging with her sisters on "girls pajama party weekends" or celebrating each other on their birthdays. They had an immense bond with each other that included much laughter, also some tears, and many, many shared life stories.
One of the highlights in Dottie's life was a tugboat that was built by her grandfather, Philo B. Leonard, in 1947. In this vein of her soul, she came across the wooden tug on a summer visit to her hometown. She garnered the purchase of the tug and had it hauled to the Waukegan Yacht Club back in Illinois, which she was a member of. With guidance and help, Dottie painstakingly refurbished the tug with the same heart and sweat that her grandfather had built it with. When the stripping of paint, caulking and sealing of seams, polishing of brass, several coats of new paint were completed, and mechanics of the engine were restored, the tug was then moored in a slip at the club during the summer months. The tug became her unofficial "cottage on the water", where they spent many summer weekends. The tug was always a point of interest for by standers when it was either docked or taken out for a day trip on the shoreline of Lake Michigan. Dottie loved sharing the story of its history, which was so closely tied to her roots. The tug now has a new owner, is resting on a dry dock, and is displayed for viewing as a piece of local history at its original home in the village of DeTour.
While a member at the yacht club, Dottie continued to grow her diversity by learning to sail and becoming a member of a sailboat crew. During this time, she relished in the experiences of sailing in many of the Chicago to Mackinac races. She developed bonded friendships with her crew members, on the race journeys, that took her back to family each year.
After Mick and Diane married they made their home in Lindenhurst, Illinois. Diane continued her career in sales, and Mick worked as a teacher and basketball coach until they both retired. Then, much like the tugboat going back to its origin, Diane and Mick moved back to the place of their humble beginnings in DeTour Village in 2011 to spend their remaining years by family.
After a few years of living on Diane's family homestead property in DeTour, Mick and Dottie purchased the neighboring house next door to them. Working side by side they incorporated their unique creative touches to remodel and create their cherished retirement home. The end results of which gave Diane her favored views of the boat harbor and shipping lane, through her illness, from her bedroom, until her final breath on the evening of October 6th, 2025.
She is survived by her husband, Michael "Mick" Adams; her children and grandchildren by heart, Cari Adams, Jason (Chrissy) Adams, and Allison and Ryan Adams; siblings, Geraldine (James) Huyck, Leona (James) DeKeyser, Hermina (Randy) Tatrow, Philbert Leonard, Sharon (Richard) Socia; sister-in-law, Angela (George) Leonard; brothers-in-law, Brian (Cheryl) Adams, Scott (Ann) Adams; sister-in-law, Charlene (Russell) Fountain; as well as many beloved nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews, and great-great nieces and nephews.
Diane was preceded in death by her parents, Herman and Beatrice; her first husband, Robert Cronan; mother and father-in-law, LeRoy and Rita "Jean" Adams; brother, George (Angela) Leonard; brothers-in-law, James (Geraldine) Huyck, Russell (Charlene) Fountain, and Jerry Adams; and nephews, Darryl DeKeyser and David Huyck.
Per Dottie's wishes, no services will be held at this time.
Special thanks to Sharon (Leonard) Socia for her dedication of time, and for her care and support over these past six months of need. Also, thank you to Hermina (Leonard) Tatrow for stepping in when needed, and for being here with her expertise in managing physical care towards the end of Diane's life. You were both a blessing on this journey.
Her spirit, passion, and heart will be greatly missed, leaving a hole of grief for the loss of someone who left us to soon, and meant so much to so many. Til we meet again....rest well Dottie. Love ~ Mick...and your entire family.
Condolences may be left to the family at www.familylifefh.com.
Obituary as submitted by family.