Howard Terry Adcock

Terry was born in Austin, Texas, on August 16, 1938, and passed away October 26, 2026 in Austin, after a long battle with Type 2 Diabetes. He is survived by his sons Jim and John Adcock, Jim's wife, Ellen, and John’s fiancé, Michelle whom Terry considered to be his daughters, his grandchildren, Noah and Emilia Adcock, Emilia’s spouse Dev Chanana, Ellen’s parents, Arnie and Susan Slive, and many loving and supportive cousins and devoted friends. He was predeceased in death by his parents, Mose Ed and Dorothy Ann Franke Adcock.

Terry is a disciple of Jesus and a baptized, confirmed member of St. Martin’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Austin. He’s served as an acolyte, usher, choir member, teacher, Prayer Group member, Stephen Minister, and a prophet.

He grew up in Austin, except for living in Pflugerville for one year during World War II and one and a half years immediately afterward in Princeton, Indiana.

He received a quality public education from elementary school until he graduated from the University of Texas in 1959. He participated in opening two new schools, Zilker Elementary School and William B. Travis High School. During his entire formative years, he pursued part-time and summer jobs. He was named Carrier of the Year for his outstanding Austin American morning newspaper delivery.

During his university years, he was active in picketing to end segregation. He was a political campaign volunteer for Texas Rep. Maury Maverick Jr. and Sen. Ralph Yarborough, and he was a Travis County delegate/volunteer in the election of President John F. Kennedy.

In 1961, he was one of the first persons from Austin to be selected to serve in the newly created U.S. Peace Corps. He served in Cogua, Cundinamarca, Colombia, supporting community development efforts, until the end of his service as a Volunteer in 1963.

After his Peace Corps service, he was hired by the U.S. Civil Service Commission in Dallas as a Personnel Management Specialist. During his employment with the Commission, he served as a Federal Voting Rights Examiner in Louisiana and Alabama.

He later transferred to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). He received a USDA Departmental Award for helping to reorganize his agency. In 1998, he retired after completing 34 years of federal employment, mostly with the USDA agency that performs meat and poultry inspections. Upon retirement, he returned to live in South Austin.

During his employment and subsequent retirement, he actively participated in volunteer work. He promoted affordable housing efforts in Fairfax County, Virginia, and Washington, DC. He and his family participated in numerous demonstrations against the war in Vietnam. He served as a team member with Via de Cristo church membership renewal, with the Arlington (TX) Prince of Peace Lutheran Church’s mission to the Casa Hogar orphanage in Galeana, Nuevo León, Mexico, with Kairos Prison Ministry in several different Texas prisons, with Colombia Support Network’s support for Colombian Peace Communities, with Mobile Loaves & Fishes’ feeding hungry folks in Austin, and with Austin Helps Honduras’ support of Colonia Solidaridad in Juticalpa, Olancho, Honduras.

Visitation will be held 11 am Friday, November 6, followed by the funeral Service at 2pm at St. Martin’s, 606 W 15th St, Austin, TX 78701. Interment will be Saturday at noon at Austin Memorial Park Cemetery, 2800 Hancock Dr, Austin, TX 78731.

Instead of flowers, his family would appreciate donations being made to Austin Helps Honduras or Mobile Loaves and Fishes.