Mabel Eunice Adams

Mabel Adams, née Sanders, was born on September 9, 1931 in Wilmington, New York, and passed away peacefully at home, in the presence of her family, in Austin, Texas, after a brief illness, on August 15, 2023.

Mabel, descended from a very long-line of New England settlers, was the daughter of Clarence Sanders, a patriotic World War I doughboy and mill worker, and Mabel Sanders (née Payne). As a child, Mabel relocated with her family to Grafton, a village outside of Worcester, Massachusetts, where she grew up on a rambling Depression-era farm. Surrounded in her upbringing by seven close and loving siblings and a passel of farm animals, Mabel excelled in school. She especially stood out in writing, grammar and the now lost art of penmanship (all of which she used endlessly in the future, when hurriedly asked to correct the thank you notes scribbled out by of her children).

And, although life was hard during those challenging economic times, Mabel always had plenty to celebrate. She learned the treasured New England qualities of ingenuity and thrift, and there was always time after school to play (and work) outdoors with her brothers and sisters on the farm, attend school dances, and to take rides in the rumble seat of her older brother’s jalopy. And though World War II and the subsequent economic boom, would soon call many in her family to service and scatter them throughout the country, they would remain forever close.

After her education was completed, Mabel joined the Wyman Gordon company, a long-established local company, which was using the largest machine in the world, at that time, to craft the titanium engine parts needed for America’s Korean War jets.

As fortune had it, Mabel also met her Navy-veteran husband, Paul Adams, at Wyman Gordon, and eventually retired (for a while) to raise a family of three boys and one girl in her home town of Grafton, and, ultimately, the then booming oil-town of Houston, Texas, where the family relocated in 1963.

A friend to those from many cultures and walks of life, her family home was always open to her chums and acquaintances, many of whom hailed from Colombia, Canada, England, Scotland, and Australia, to name just a few. Also not forgotten were many of her children’s friends, who were glad to frequently visit and be unofficially adopted by a kind and patient listener that was always willing to give help, as well as caring, non-condescending advice to youngsters, if they asked for it.

Once in Texas, after ensuring that her children were off to a responsible start, Mabel rejoined the corporate world in accounting and management, mostly for wildcatter oil companies, where colorful and interesting people came together to try to strike it rich through hard work. Always a very independent and self-reliant lady, she worked confidently to make a place for herself in an industry that had only just started opening up to women.

Mabel loved her children, taking them to the beach and letting them sleep under the stars to their heart’s content, or at least until the Texas mosquitos drove them inside. Mabel also loved art and she always encouraged her children to tag along when she attended traveling exhibitions of not-to-be-missed masterpieces. Most importantly, she insisted, on teaching them their manners, as well as drilling them in their times tables. Academics were important and she always made sure that books and ideas took center place in her home. She also unfailingly credited her children with the ability to think and independently reason (though their behavior might sometimes seem to contradict her confidence in them), and to ultimately know right from wrong when she was not there to teach them.

Mabel always loved to have a chance to entertain. Saturday nights were often dedicated to bridge games with close friends, as well as experimenting with new cuisines and recipes, after catching up during the day with another lifelong passion: gardening. Mabel was known to possess a proverbial green thumb and she tirelessly cultivated the many unique plants that she loved, even in the Texas heat. Mabel also enjoyed attending auctions and visiting antique stores to find the perfect decorations for her home.

On Sundays, she was known to serve up a traditional Yankee pot roast, with all the trimmings (to appreciative family, friends, and her children’s especially hungry friends) as well as witty rejoinders and memorable puns to liven up the conversation.

A lifelong lover of travel, Mabel appreciated touring far-off locales, like the ruins of Machu Pichu, the jungles of Colombia, the bazaars of Istanbul, the deserts of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the fjords of Norway, and the historic sights of the Netherlands, France, Germany and Austria. In the US, the cities of San Francisco, New Orleans, and Boston, with their history, architecture and fine restaurants were known to be favorites. Mabel was often lured to visit family living abroad, but just as often, she jetted off with family and friends for a cruise or an adventure in an exotic locale.

Mabel also loved her country, was a patriot through and through, and perhaps, due to her love of freedom and her New-England-Yankee upbringing, always advocated for the historic rights of her countrymen. Her family hopes that her proud journey in life captured the spirit of the American dream.

Mabel, who is survived by her children, grandchildren, and a great grandchild, will be forever missed by all who loved her.

A graveside service will be held at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, September 9, 2023 in Memorial Oaks Cemetery.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.waltripfuneraldirectors.com for the Adams family.