Frances Adamson

Thanks to the amazing level of Felton community support that enabled her to stay at home in Felton, Frances Adamson 87, died peacefully at home holding husband Franks’ hand the morning of May 6, 2016, and listening to her favorite opera music.//Fran was always caring for others and for the world – whether as a nurse, health advisor, or environmental activist. Fran’s dedication to the environment & many community causes were a key driving factor in her daily life & perhaps what most defined her public presence in Felton. Fran wouldn’t settle for less than perfection so worked hard to make the world a better place for people & the environment.//In her final year, she was in the care of others including her husband and the loving caregivers of Myrna Smith Agency, Hospice Santa Cruz, and so many friends in Felton and nearby communities, all of whom who helped ease the path of her final journey. She so appreciated your many visits to read to her, chat, play music, sing, and often just sit and hold her hand.//Music: While at SF's Lincoln HS, Fran was a member of the SF Opera Chorus where her favorite singing memory was being on stage with famous singer Lily Pons in Lucia di Lammermoor. Although she loved singing, she decided to pursue her other love, nursing. Fran maintained a lifelong love of music and especially classical music and opera. Fran played piano and enjoyed playing 4-hand music with a number of neighbors over the years and also studied the Paraguayan harp.//Nursing: Frances Adamson received her MS at UC San Francisco School of Nursing in 1954, beginning a lifelong career as a caregiver, ranging from work in hospitals to volunteering on weekends for many years at free community health clinics in Berkeley.//Frances fell in love with Arthur Frank Adamson, they went on ice skating dates, and soon wed in September 1953 and settled in Berkeley. Frank was a theology student who became pastor at the Sycamore Congregational Church of Oakland, so in addition to being a nurse she was a pastor’s wife. The Family enjoyed many happy years with this wonderful congregation (now in El Cerrito). Years later, Frank returned to school for a Doctorate of Theology and then joined the Berger family counseling practice in Oakland.//Fran was a meditator and a vegetarian, and she meditated at the Easwaren Blue Mountain center in Berkeley until it relocated.//Fran was an ardent nature lover, bicyclist and hiker. The Desolation Wilderness was a particular favorite & the Family returned to this place of solace and quiet beauty year after year. They also enjoyed regular day trips to Point Lobos to combine walking trails with the coastline and watching sea otters, seals, and birds. They loved bicycling and F&F took some epic trips through the West, including riding the entire California Mission Trail from Northern to Southern California, and also biking in the Mojave Desert and the Southwest. Despite Frank's love of international travel and cultures (developed during his WWII duty at sea around the world), they only vacationed twice outside of the USA: Mexico City and England.//Frank and Fran decided to leave the urban hubub and moved to Felton, CA in 1984 to live among the redwoods. They soon settled into the vibrant community, quickly became involved in many activities, & soon were deeply rooted in Felton with friends in many walks of life.//Fran was always active in environmental causes from Save the Bay to the Sierra Club and so many others as well, since unfortunately the world’s many wounds and needs require a rich panoply of organizations to help address the challenges. In Berkeley she wrote public service announcements for the Sierra Club and she and Frank were avid members of the East Bay Bicycle Coalition. In Felton Fran was active in the SLV Women's Club. In the last few years, a local campaign that Fran supported is for the Felton local library. //However, Fran is best known in Felton for her epic contributions to FLOW (Felton Locally Owned Water) wherein she & Frank banded together with many other concerned folks of Felton. After a grueling 5+ year campaign they won their water rights against a multinational corporation. The people of Felton demonstrated that it was possible to win despite the odds, and soon received letters seeking advice from others around the world who also were battling corporate takeovers of local water. Felton was featured in documentaries by NHKJapan and by producers from several European countries for water rights reclamation against rapacious corporations. Of the many campaigns of Fran’s busy lifetime, her contribution to FLOW’s win was her proudest achievement.//Honors:•Valley Women’s Club: Fran & Frank received the 2005 Hammer-Marcum award for their contributions to the betterment of the San Lorenzo Valley.•The House of Representatives & the CA State Assembly each honored Fran & Frank with Resolutions in 2005 for their contributions to FLOW, stopping Malathion spraying, Amateur Radio work, and lifelong dedication to protecting the environment.•The Sierra Club honored them for 50 years of committed service.//Fran is survived by her husband, Arthur Frank Adamson, daughters & their spouses: Mary Adamson (Rich Harrington) Pleasanton CA & Charlotte Adamson (Otto Kilcher) children: Torrey Short (Dana), sons Levi & Eivin (Eve & children Findlay & Sparrow Rose), & August of Homer, Alaska.//We thank Myrna Smith and her caregivers & Santa Cruz Hospice Team who combined consummate professionalism & a tender heart into every visit with Fran!//We thank the SLV neighbors who have provided so much emotional support to Fran as she negotiated the rocky twisted path that is Alzheimer’s.//We will always treasure the remembrances shared by her Life Celebration attendees about what Fran meant to their life and to the community and to know that her life will continue to be an inspiration to others to choose health, to choose peace, and to choose love.