Raymond Wilber Adams

Raymond Wilber Adams, age 70, of Royce City, passed away on Wednesday, October 23, 2024 at his home. He was born August 28, 1954 in Sioux City, Iowa to Wilber and Marie (Uitsch) Adams.

Ray graduated from high school in the class of 1972 with varsity letters in football and wrestling. From there, he became a railroad man, working for TTX (Trailer Train Corporation) for 20 years where he developed a love of trains and made some lifelong friends. He was promoted to supervisor, was assigned to a Field Maintenance Office, and was recognized for his safety record, providing 20 years of service without injury or any safety violations. Oof his happiest days was the day he retired from the railroad. From there he went to work for his good friends John and Ann Prins at J&A Livestock Products Inc. repairing farm equipment and helping to design cattle feeder boxes. This made him a lot happier.

Ray was a good man with a strong sense of right and wrong, willing to help others when he could, and was easy to talk to. He always had time to listen to his children’s concerns and was a phenomenal Dad. He was a storyteller and would talk to anyone for hours on end. From the moment people met him they felt as though they had known him for years and considered him a close friend.

Ray loved to work on things. He had a passion for working on vehicles, particularly his Deuce and a Half, and his Toyota Land Cruiser. But he enjoyed working on pretty much anything, from the home he and his wife shared, to his children and grandchildren’s vehicles, and his motorcycles. If it was broken, he would find a way to fix it and enjoy every minute.

Thinking of special memories of Ray, his children wrote:

“When I, Tony, was in the Navy, we took a train down the coast, from Los Angles to San Deigo, then boarded my ship and he road the ship back to Long Beach with me.”

“The day he introduced me, Tony, as his Son.”

“For me, Tonya, some of my favorite memories are of him playing with his grandchildren. Playing on the swing set with them, installing new horns on tricycles, crawling into Little Tikes doll houses and setting them on his lap for a ride on the tractor.”

Finally, Tony writes:

“It’s hard to quantify what a person is to so many people, in just a few words. To put it simply, he was the patriarch of our family. Loving husband, caring dad, loyal and helpful friend, and great neighbor. He enriched the lives of everyone he encountered.

In short, he is the man I hope to one day become.”

Raymond is survived by his wife, Dorothy; daughters, Tonya and Holly; sons; Tony and Ulises; son-in-law, Keith; daughters-in-law, Carprice and Olivia; ex-wife, Deborah; and fifteen grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Wilber and Marie Adams; brother, Kenny Adams; and ex-wife, Jacqueline Adams.