Pamela Ann Adams

Pam was born to Maury Wayne McCaskill and Mary Francis McCaskill in a US Army hospital in Shreveport, Louisiana. Maury was recovering from a wound suffered from an explosion in World War II. He had been stationed in New Guinea, trying to block the Japanese from getting into India. Maury’s brother had just died in Patton’s march into Italy (1944). Pam’s paternal grandfather had fought in the trenches of France in World War I. So, in Pam’s earliest days she was surrounded by patriots and Purple Hearts, along with women who paid big prices as well. What she gained from these relatives was strength of character, a commitment to living with purpose, and deep loyalty to those she loved. 

Pam grew up in Dallas, Texas, and she spent summers and weekends with family in Ennis, Texas. She always felt like Ennis was her true home. It’s where she spent time with her beloved cousins, explored her grandmother’s vegetable garden, and learned her earliest lessons about politics and ethics from her grandfather, who served the town as mayor. Pam graduated from Hillcrest High School as editor of the school paper and went on to be a straight A student in college at Oklahoma University. At OU, Pam chose to major in education- inspiring a lifetime commitment to the field. She was a Kappa Kappa Gamma member, and many of her sorority sisters became dear friends for life. She eloped with fellow OU student William (Bill) Adams in the spring of 1968- which began a 57 year marriage. Pam followed Bill to graduate school at Texas Tech and then to Minneapolis while he was on active duty in the Army. In Minneapolis she developed a deep interest in politics and the arts. Pam became active in the ERA movement and enjoyed spending time at the Walker Art Center and Guthrie Theater. 

Pam loved the energy of the feminist movement and was excited to do her part when she and Bill moved to Washington DC in 1974. She taught GED classes at the Women’s Detention Center (where the women fondly called her “Skinny”), monitored ERA hearings on the Hill for Ralph Nader, and became a Docent at the Corcoran, guiding tours for young children. Pam and Bill lived in a 200 year-old townhouse in Alexandria that had been built by George Washington. And she was also able to realize her Texas dreams of traveling up to New York City frequently. She and Bill shared fond memories of taking the last shuttle back to DC, but not before rushing to Little Italy to pick up a cheesecake from Ferraras on the way home.

Pam gave birth to her only daughter Ashley in 1976. Soon she became focused on Ashley’s education- which involved sharing the things that most inspired her about the world: travel, art, theatre, politics, and architecture. 

When Pam, Bill, and Ashley moved back to Minneapolis in 1981 Pam became an entrepreneur and opened 4 poster art galleries in Minnesota. She began collecting modern and poster art- especially in Mexico. She learned to speak Spanish at the language school in San Miguel Allende, befriending CIA expats and state department folks. She became interested in Mexican cooking and learned to make a mean guacamole (don’t even think of adding salsa). During these years, her mother’s enchilada recipe was always on the refrigerator door. 

In 1983, the Adams family moved to Coronado, California, and Pam was thrilled to enroll Ashley in Christ Church Day School. Pam treasured CCDS, believing it provided the best foundation for students to build their futures. In later years, she contributed to CCDS in numerous ways (Headmistress, Recruiter, etc). Pam loved seeing the school, students, and CCDS families thrive, and she also loved the friends she developed while working there. They were all connected through the CCDS mission and Pam’s deep sense of purpose- to empower every student to become a lifelong learner.

Ashley’s high school years brought Pam new opportunities to explore her creative talents. She was costume designer for the Coronado High School Spring musical every year, and this job required thousands of hours of sewing, glue-gunning, and ensuring every single ensemble member had tights, character shoes, and some kind of a hat. Pam also loved diving into her passion for architecture by building, with Lorton Mitchell’s help, two beautiful homes in Coronado. In later years she returned to her Texas roots, remodeling a ranch in Bonita, CA where she and Bill lived with her favorite quarter horses, Leo and Sherman. 

Pam was proud of her family history and took great pleasure in tracing her roots all the way back to Scotland, on the Isle of Skye. She went there multiple times in recent years to stand on the McCaskill rubble (what at one time was a small castle). She was proud of her Scotch-Irish heritage, and especially when she found that her relatives had founded a single malt scotch distillery (Talisker). Her real friends knew that she was always partial to a neat MaCallan, however. 

After a few falls from her horses, Pam’s Dementia symptoms surfaced. Pam and Bill returned to Coronado and Pam passed quietly on Sunday, February 16, 2025. She was surrounded by her husband of 57 years, her daughter of 48 years, her son-in-law Ryan, and twin grandsons Sam and Wyatt. Pam will be remembered for her loyalty to friends and family, her ability to see and create beauty, and a deep commitment to causes she cared about. One of her friends in a very kind condolence said she was “unique and wonderful”. That pretty much sums it up. 

A service to honor Pam’s unique and wonderful spirit will be held at 3pm on Saturday, March 29, 2025 at Christ Episcopal Church in Coronado, CA. Donations in her name have been requested to go to Planned Parenthood, San Diego and Christ Church Day School in Coronado.