Inger Johanne Adams

Inger Johanne Adams was called to be with our Lord on Wednesday, September 9, 2015 at the age of 93. She will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her. She is reunited in heaven with her parents John Eugen and Jenny Albertha Dahlgren, husband Harry Stiles Adams, Jr., brother Kjeld Dahlgren, and friend and sister-in-law Edith Wynne Adams.

Inger was born in Oslo, Norway on March 8, 1922. She lived as a young adult during the German occupation in World War II. She met her future husband Harry at the conclusion of the war. A romance was struck up, with subsequent correspondence, and Inger travelled to the US, far from her native home, to become a Texas bride in 1946. She began employment in the neonatology unit at Santa Rosa Hospital and later transitioned to a post at the county clerk's office at Bexar County Courthouse. She ultimately found her niche as a bookkeeper/accountant for two local produce companies where she worked into her 70's.

Inger was active in the Norwegian and Scandinavian communities of San Antonio, participating in the Norwegian Club of San Antonio and the local Scandinavian Society. For many years she represented Norway at International Folk Festivals on the Hemisfair grounds, wearing the traditional folk dress of her region in Norway and demonstrating traditional culinary crafts. Inger was a chef extraordinaire of Norwegian cakes and pastries, not to mention lutefisk and fiskeboller! In 1968, she was privileged to serve as part of a welcoming procession for King Olav of Norway's visit to San Antonio.

One of the loves of Inger's life was playing bridge. She actively sought new friends in the community with whom she could engage. Even into her 90's, she was driving about San Antonio in pursuit of a hand of bridge. When she had cards in her hand, she maintained a calculated and determined look on her face. It was her favorite pastime and formed a key bond of camaraderie and travel in her later years.

Inger was generous of soul and spirit. Throughout her life she reached out to help the elderly, doing errands and tending to their needs, while caring for a family and working a 40-hour week. She was always there to support a friend in need with a plate of cookies or a get well card or birthday remembrance. People were drawn to her kindness and friendly smile. Inger was a strange combination of true humility combined with a fierce pride and regard for who she was.

Like any true Viking, Inger had the wanderlust and loved to travel, often to Mexico and her native land, Norway, in the early years but casting a further net later on, climbing the Great Wall in China, island hopping in the Mediterranean, cruising St. Petersburg to Moscow, traveling South America from stem to stern and circumnavigating New Zealand with a side stop at Ayers Rock in Australia. That's just to name a few!

The blessing of her memory will live on in the hearts of her daughter, Anne Marie Adkins, her niece Kari Gautneb and husband Tore, nephews Andrew & Russell Adams, cousins Rich & Bob Wiringa, and dearest friends Gunn Lipscomb and Else Ross. Visitation will be on Friday evening, September 18, from 6 to 8 pm at Porter Loring Mortuary, 1101 McCullough. On Saturday, September 19, 2015, a memorial service will be held at 10AM at St. Andrews Lutheran Church, 16320 Huebner Road with interment following at Sunset Memorial Park on Austin Highway. Memorials may be made to a charity of your choosing.