PERKINSVILLE, Vt. – Eugene G. Adams, 87, died Tuesday morning, Dec. 9, at his home. He was born Aug. 16, 1938, in Randolph, Vt., the son of Theron and Lucy (Flint) Adams. He graduated from Springfield High School, Class of 1958, and the co-op program, and went to work in the machine tool industry, on the night shift.
Gene left the machine tool shop and opened his own business at Downers Four Corners; he moved from the Four Corners business to just up the road, where he owned and operated his automotive business until he sold it in 1987. Gene and Alice purchased the property on Stoughton Pond Road in 1987, where he built a new garage and opened another automotive business, which has been the hub of the community for almost 40 years.
Gene and his team ran the safety crew at the Canaan Raceway and the Claremont Speedway every Saturday night for many years.
He served on the West Weathersfield Volunteer Fire Department, and ran a wrecker service as well for many years.
Gene had a love of cars and racing, and could talk cars all day long. On any given day you could find him with the boys in the shop. The shop became the gathering place for the community to stop by and chat and shoot the breeze.
In his later years, he developed an interest in model electric trains. He had trains and train tracks that took up half the basement of his home.
Gene was always tinkering; he was a fixer. If something was broken, he would figure out a way to fix it. If he didn’t like the way it worked, he would modify it to work better.
He loved family, and the highlight of his week was having supper and playing cards on Saturday nights. He missed it when we had to skip a week.
He will be greatly missed by his family and the community.
He is survived by his children from his first marriage to Lucinda Adams (deceased), his son Richard Adams, of Springfield, and his daughter Joy Fletcher (Shannon), of Red Boiling Springs, Tenn.; his sister Maralyn Jillson, of Brattleboro; step-daughters Barbara Slaton (Robert), of Springfield, Beverly Lauren, of Chester, and Bette Matulonis (Jeff), of Springfield; as well as grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
He was predeceased by his wife of 38 years Alice Gilman Adams in 2016.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Gene Adams Memorial Scholarship Fund, 703 Maple Street, Perkinsville, VT 05151. The scholarship is being set up in Gene’s memory to assist a student seeking training in automotive repair.
Visiting hours will be held on Friday evening, Dec. 19, from 5-7 p.m., at the Davis Memorial Chapel in Springfield, Vt.
A memorial service will be celebrated on Saturday, Dec. 20, at 3 p.m., at the North Springfield Baptist Church. The Rev. Joanne Thomas will officiate.
Burial will be at a later date at the Mountain View Cemetery in Braintree, Vt.