01/02/2021
Harry Donald Adams passed away peacefully in his home surrounded by family on January 2, 2021.
Even at 91 years old, he was not to be bested by the year 2020. Don was born on a small farm in Knoxville, Iowa. Graduating with the KHS Class of 1947.
He was the fourth of six siblings and led a typical 1930s farm-life childhood. He attended the Colorado School of Mines, where he played football and developed a lifelong connection to the school.
After graduating in 1952, Don enlisted in the Army and served as a Combat Engineer at Chitose Army/Air Base in Hokkaido, Japan.
Upon returning home, he married Carolyn Bruce Boren, and the two promptly moved to Venezuela, where Don worked for Sinclair and Amoco.
They went on to have three children and many different places to call home including Texas, Connecticut, Argentina, Nigeria, and Holland.
The family returned to Colorado in the 70s, where he started his own consulting engineering business and became President of the CSM Alumni Association. He continued to work well into his late 80s.
Don was a busy man all the days of his life, adding weight to the fact that he never missed an opportunity to help a friend or family member.
He liked to say he didn’t have time for fun, but it’s believed that he immensely enjoyed guiding his children and grandchildren through life, one knock on the head at a time.
He was a gruff but deeply kind man, with a signature scowl that was deceptively close to tipping over into a smile with the slightest provocation.
Don loved his family, a hard day’s work, accelerating slowly in his car while explaining the engine’s gasoline intake, reminding people with piercings that he still had his “hog ringer” somewhere, traveling, western novels, a good drink, and a quiet house, though the last one was a lost cause.
He disliked chewing gum, the word “bored,” most famous people, TV ads, and pets of every kind, which, he loved reminding people, would need to be fed and cleaned up after.
He joins in death his brothers, Jim and Bill; sisters, Jeanne and Betty; and a son, Murray.
He is survived by his loving wife, Carolyn; a sister, Peg; his children, William and Elisabeth; grandchildren, Jared, Marisa, Jordan, Sean, and Jon; and countless friends across the world. He will be missed daily.