Marie J. Adams was a modest woman, quiet and observant in her ways. She was trustworthy and traditional in her approach to her life and in her relationships. She was tough-minded with the kind of "stick to it" attitude that earned the respect of all who knew her. She was also a woman who was meticulous, carefully disciplined, and orderly in virtually everything she undertook. Realistic about life, she was always at the ready, prepared to take on responsibility.
Marie was born on December 11, 1939 in Oshawa, Ontario. Her parents were Allan and Lorraine Vinson. She was brought up to be self-confident and dependable. These were traits that would serve her well throughout her life.
Growing up in the Adams household was a bit different than most homes. There were good times to be had, but just as often there was a fair share of challenges as well. However, Marie was able to work through the usual family problems when they appeared, and she was the one person in the family who seemed able to keep the stress at bay. Marie was raised with six siblings; four sisters and twin brothers. She had one older sister Carol, and three younger sisters, Sandy, Gloria, and Jackie and younger twin brothers Ron and Don. Marie was constantly involved in activities with her brothers and sisters. Marie and her siblings may have had the typical rivalries while growing up but Marie was always consistently loyal to her family.
While her teachers and even her friends generally thought of Marie as being a serious person, she managed to have a pretty good time in high school as she made that critical transition from adolescence to adulthood. She attended O'Neill Collegiate. She enjoyed some courses more than others, having favourite classes and teachers. Marie was a very logical person who enjoyed learning about factual information. Using her exceptional memory, she was able to learn much through observation. Marie always seemed to have a command of the facts and was able to make it seem as though she could easily master any problem that might be presented to her.
College life brought with it a new set of challenges, but Marie handled them well. Being a critical thinker who always remained intellectually independent, Marie was able to focus on the task at hand in order to complete her class work. She seemed to thrive on college reading assignments, something that often bogged down her classmates. Marie was able to read the material and retain the information in a way that impressed her fellow classmates. The ability to efficiently complete the task at hand was a skill that served Marie well during her college experience. Her favourite professor was Dr. Wayne Dyer.
Always considered to be a solid friend, Marie was fortunate to have numerous acquaintances and several very close friends during her life. Since she disliked making generalizations about people and preferred to draw her own conclusions based on direct observation, Marie was able to see beneath the surface of relationships and became a true friend to those who knew her. She was committed to her friends and valued the trust she placed in them. It was not uncommon for Marie to go beyond the call of duty for others, and friends frequently sought her out for advice because she had a knack for coming up with practical solutions to any type of dilemma. Later in life, she became friends with Fay Valente, Shirley Sibbald, Midge Buzza, and Greta Down.
On July 26, 1984 Marie exchanged wedding vows with Edmund James Adams in Toronto, Ontario. Compassionate and devoted to Ed, Marie held endearing, traditional values about marriage and family life. She took the responsibility of marriage to heart, giving it her total commitment. She was a source of strength to Ed and using her gifts at nurturing one-on-one relationships, she worked hard to make her new family happy.
Marie brought the same traditional values in her marriage to bear on how she raised her children. She was a good parent to them, always firm yet fair in her dealings. She would always listen carefully and think things through before she acted, even when it was an adverse situation. Marie was also a walking schedule, always seeming to know what everyone in the family needed to do, where they needed to be and when they needed to be there. Marie was blessed with two children, two daughters, Kathy and Theresa and stepdaughter Deanna Jane. They were also blessed with three grandchildren and four step grandchildren, Dalton, Melissa, Brianna, Amanda, Tiffany, James, and Allyson.
Marie greatly enjoyed what she did for a living. She was a hard worker who expected the same in return from her co-workers. She was skilled at working effectively in small groups and in one-on-one situations as well as handling solo assignments efficiently. Marie enjoyed dealing with concrete ideas and could penetrate any amount of fuzzy information to reach the essential facts. Always able to attend to the task at hand, Marie was excellent at meeting deadlines. She was an efficient worker, one who paid careful attention to detail, allowing sufficient time to complete one task before moving on to the next. Her primary occupation was Assignment Facilities Manager. She was employed for 29 years by Bell Canada. Marie worked hard to be a team player, doing what was necessary in order to get the job done.
Marie liked to experience things first-hand as well as learn about them. This trait carried over into her hobbies, where she was very methodical in how she organized her activities and categorized things. Since she enjoyed her private time, Marie always tried to allocate a specific time for working on her hobbies. Her favourite pursuit was being involved with the church in any and everyway possible and helping people. She had adopted a little girl through World Vision. Marie was content to enjoy her hobbies alone but was also willing to share her interests with others.
Marie found pleasure in sports. Being a person who was comfortable making win/lose decisions throughout life, she could appreciate that athletes made those types of decisions in sports. She applauded those who won, and she enjoyed the statistical data and sports facts and could find herself wrapped up in those details. She would watch her favourite sporting events whenever she got the opportunity. Tops on her list were baseball and hockey.
Many organizations were grateful to have Marie as a member, since she always brought with her a "stick to it" attitude and a high degree of common sense. Using straightforward methods to successfully complete the job, Marie was a great planner who was incredibly well organized. It seemed that she was able to schedule any event or activity with ease. She always seemed to know exactly what needed to be done. Throughout her later years, Marie was an active member of the UCL, Oshawa Presbyterial, St. Stephen's United Church and Ebenezer United Church.
Marie was a woman who was dedicated and devoted to her faith. She was a member and elder at Ebenezer United Church and at St. Stephen's United Church. During that time, she maintained the archives at Ebenezer United Church and she was corresponding secretary for the Oshawa Presbyterial. She was a sympathetic woman who valued her beliefs and was willing to work tirelessly for them.
Marie enjoyed travelling and taking vacations. Since she was an early starter and had a knack for planning everything, travelling with Marie appeared effortless. She enjoyed researching all of her examined options and applying cost-effective planning techniques. Plus, no matter where she travelled, Marie always had a back up plan at the ready, just in case. Favourite vacations included trips to Niagara Falls with her grandchildren and Ed.
She always trusted and placed value in what was logical and in the things she knew, so she was very confident in planning her retirement. She had begun the process early and had her retirement all laid out well in advance. Her new life involved relocating to Courtice, Ontario. In retirement, she found new pleasure in being active in the Church Women's Groups, UCW, Presbyerial and bus trips to the live theatre in Toronto. She found much pleasure in spending time with family. Even in retirement, Marie continued to stay in touch with her old friends while making plenty of new acquaintances. She was active in her new community and felt fulfilled.
Marie J. Marie was diagnosed with cancer which had developed on her vertebrae and for three months she fought a brave battle. She is survived by her husband Ed, daughters Kathy Jewell and Theresa Hull-Clarke, grandchildren, Dalton, Melissa, Brianna; step-mother to Deanna Tant, step-grandmother to James, Allyson, Amanda, and Tiffany Clarke; sisters, Carol, Gloria, Sandy, Jackie, brothers, Don and Ron. Visitation was held at Oshawa Funeral Home and Services were held at Ebenezer United Church. Marie was laid to rest in Mount Lawn Cemetery.
Committment is a key word that can be used to describe the life of Marie J. Adams. She was committed to living the life of a good woman who was both practical and trustworthy. She was committed to the traditional values that she upheld her entire life. She committed herself to being a hard worker who expected the same effort in return from those around her. Most of all, she was committed to those she knew and loved.