Charles Rex Adams

Charles Rex Adams passed peacefully in Boerne, Texas, on August 24, 2011, just five days after his 81st birthday. He was born August 19, 1930, the youngest of three children to Mae Davis and Grover Cleveland Adams, on their dairy farm near Mt. Vernon, Texas.

Graduating from high school at 15, he helped on the farm for a year before enrolling at North Texas State Teacher’s College, receiving a B.A., and proceeded to the Rice Institute in Houston, where in 1951 he married a fellow student, Marjorie Jean Biggers, born 1932. His exacting work in the laboratory was very challenging. But by brilliance and perseverance he earned his Ph.D. in Catalysis and Surface Chemistry in 1954. During his summers at Rice, Charles worked for Shell Development Co. and in 1954 the couple moved to California, where at Shell’s Emeryvile Laboratory he embarked on a distinguished career, marked by several professional awards recognizing his scientific contributions. In 1967, he married his second wife, Marie-Claude Jumez. They had 35 love-filled years together. She nicknamed him “Charlie” and opened his eyes to the lighter side of life. They traveled frequently to her home country of France and entertained many friends at their homes first in Oakland, California and later in Houston, Texas. Charlie was a life-long avid bird hunter and outdoorsman.

Charles Rex Adams was predeceased by his parents, Mae and Grover Adams, his brother, Glen Adams, his sister, Virginia Grace Burns and his wife, Marie-Claude. Charles Rex Adams is survived by daughter, Melina Gail Adams Luna and her children, Adam Abraham, Rebecca Jean, Daniel Hal, and Michael Roman; son, Christopher Ray Adams; son, Dale Tryon Adams and his children, Nicholas Biggers, Victoria Grace, and Alexander Frederick; and son, Eric Charles Adams and his children, Margaux and Wilson.

Friends are invited to any of the three ceremonies: Saturday, August 27, 2011 at 4PM at the First United Methodist Church in Boerne, Texas; Tuesday, August 30, 2011 at 12:30 pm, in the Chapel at Memorial Oaks Funeral Home, 13001 Katy Freeway, Houston, Texas 77079 or in Paris, France, followed by interment in the Cimitiere due Montparnasse in Paris, France, beside his beloved Marie-Claude.

Arrangements under the direction of Memorial Oaks Funeral Home, Houston, TX.