Wanda Lynn Adams

Wanda was a wonderful mother and, like Jesus asks us to be, a servant to others. While raising her own four children, she provided in-home childcare to numerous other little ones. She loved and remembered each of them and forever enjoyed recounting enduring stories of their time in her care. After earning her degree, she spent some time working at Hillcrest West Nursing Home as a CNA. There, she took pride in helping the people to the best of her ability as she imagined it must be hard for them to be separated from family. She also spent some time running the front desk at the downtown YWCA in Knoxville. She not only manned the phone and the front desk, she found a multitude of ways to help the women there along their paths. Wanda enjoyed reading mystery novels, working crossword puzzles, and keeping up with current events. She had a sharp mind, a savvy intuition, and could always be counted on for the wisest advice. She very much enjoyed spending time with her family, and out-of-town family members could find themselves on the phone with her for hours at a time. Her adventurous spirit led her to enjoy traveling later in life, visiting places such as Michigan, Florida, Georgia, Arizona, Cozumel, and Cuba. Although she had taken flying lessons herself, she had never flown on a jet until she was 86. Her flight to visit Arizona was one of her favorite experiences- especially since she earned her wings and was invited to sit in the Captain’s seat. Even though she saw the Grand Canyon on that trip, she said that she enjoyed visiting Meteor Crater more because she got to lay her hands on the meteorite itself.

Wanda was preceded in death by her former husband, Barney Adams Jr. and her son, Michael Scott Adams. Also preceding her were her parents Walter Isaac Lawson & Mattie Lawson and her siblings: Jean Jenkins, Bobby Lawson, Charles Lawson, and Billy Lawson. She is survived by her children: Kim Grove, Jerry Adams, Kristi Weaver, and son-in-law, Jeff Weaver. She is also survived by her four grandchildren: Andy Dawdy, Ashley Dawdy, Megan Grove, and Logan Grove. Her niece, Cathy Jenkins, is much appreciated as she spent inordinate amounts of time helping with errands and providing her Aunt Wanda with loving companionship. The family would like to especially thank the ICU nurses at Tennova at Turkey Creek, especially Morgan, Cheryl, and Carol for the compassionate and heartfelt care they provided during her stay.

A graveside service will be held on Saturday, August 13 at 11:00 a.m. at Highland Memorial Cemetery’s Veterans’ Garden in Bearden. Reverend James Lynch of West Park Baptist Church will be officiating. From 3:00- 6:00 p.m., we would like to invite her close friends and family to drop by her home for coffee, her favorite desserts, and to share stories of her life. In lieu of flowers, we encourage everyone to make a donation to help the people of Ukraine as their heartbreak affected her deeply. Donations can be made through Samaritan’s Purse at https://www.samaritanspurse.org/our-ministry/ukraine-response/.

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