Lewie Henry Adams, Jr.
Holman-Headland MortuaryViewed: 2270
Posted by: Holman Mortuaries
[email protected]
334-693-3371
Date: Oct 24 2012 11:33 AM
L. H. ADAMS, JR.
COLUMBIA, ALABAMA. . .L. H. Adams, Jr., a resident of Columbia, Alabama, died late Tuesday night, October 23, 2012, at his home. He was 90.
Funeral services will be held at 2:00 P.M. Saturday, October 27, 2012, in the Columbia United Methodist Church with Dr. Walter Reeder and Reverend Robert Strickland officiating. Graveside services, with full military honors, will follow in the Columbia City Cemetery. Holman-Headland Mortuary is in charge of funeral arrangements. The family will receive friends from 1:00 until 2:00 P.M. Saturday in the church sanctuary.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Columbia United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 188, Columbia, AL 36319.
L.H. Adams, Jr. was born on September 17, 1922, in Pinckard, Alabama, the eldest son of L.H. Adams, Sr. and Myrtle Glover Adams. Shortly thereafter, he and his parents moved to Midland City, Alabama.
In 1927, the family moved to Columbia, Alabama, where he and his younger brothers, Gerald G. Adams, and Glen W. Adams, and Lenton R. Adams, grew up. He graduated from Houston County High School in 1940, after which he received a Bachelor of Arts degree (in History) from the University of Alabama.
Following the outbreak of World War II, he, along with other ROTC students, were sent to Officer Candidate School at Ft. Benning, Georgia. Following graduation, he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant (Infantry) in the U. S. Army. He served a time in Texas before going to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater, where he served in the Philippines and, at war’s end, was a part of the U.S. forces scheduled for the invasion of Japan.
Upon his release from active duty in 1946, he returned to the University of Alabama. There he received a Juris Doctor degree in 1949 and was admitted to the Alabama Bar.
He and Forrest L. Adams became law partners in Abbeville, Alabama. He continued the practice of law in Abbeville until the outbreak of the Korean Conflict, whereupon (in January 1951), he was recalled to active duty in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps, U.S. Army-and was stationed at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
While stationed in the Washington, D.C. area, he was formally admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States.
In 1952, he was transferred to Europe and was assigned to the Headquarters, U.S. Forces in Austria, in Salzburg-and served there during one of the more tense periods of the Cold War. He was promoted to Captain in JAG while in Austria. He tried many courts-martial cases in Austria and Italy during this time-prosecuting and defending cases, and also sitting as military judge in a number of trials. Also, among other duties, he was the legal member of the commission appointed to review and dispose of war crimes cases.
He returned to the United States in 1954 and was released from active duty, while retaining his commission. He settled in Birmingham, Alabama, and again began the practice of law. Soon, however, he joined the legal staff of one of the U S government agencies and later moved to Atlanta and became counsel for the regional office of one of the federal agencies-from which he retired.
He also attained the rank of Colonel in the U S Army, Judge Advocate General’s Corps, a grade which he retired with from the military.
He returned to Columbia in 1999, and was active in local and community affairs. He was a member of the Columbia United Methodist Church and was the founder of the Columbia Historical Society and served as its first President.
He is the author of Penny Postcards-Growing Up in the Great Depression, which tells stories of his early life in Columbia. He wrote many articles dealing with the history of Columbia-southeast Alabama’s oldest continuously existing town, in which he was greatly interested.
He was preceded in death by two brothers, Gerald G Adams and Glen W. Adams.
Surviving relatives include his wife, Joy Hope Adams, two daughters, Linda Jane Adams-Wellin and husband, David, Atlanta, GA and Pamela Elizabeth Adams-Ehrhardt, Atlanta, GA.Two step-daughters, Starr Sands Paton and husband, Douglas, Oakland Park, FL and Melody Sands Sepskis and husband, Ray, Lockport, IL. Brother, Lenton Adams and wife, Linda, Tallahassee, FL., sister-in-law, Patricia Adams, Montgomery, AL.Three granddaughters, Erika Jane Plante; Samantha Grace Ehrhardt; and Jaclyn Ehrhardt; and two step-grandsons, Clayton Huber and Ryan Paton; and a special friend, Jean Peterson, Montgomery.
Serving as active pallbearers will be Elliott Whitton, Andy Williams, Glenn Will, Maurice Gilbert, David Rivenbark and Lanny Lancaster.
HOLMAN HEADLAND MORTUARY IS IN CHARGE OF FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS. Phone 334-693-3371. You may sign a guest register at www.holmanmortuaries.com.
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