William E. Adams

William E. Adams, 76, passed away in his home after a long battle with cancer. A funeral service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 1, 2008, at Meyer Brothers Colonial Chapel with visitation beginning at 12:00 noon until service time. The family will have a lunch from 11:00 to 1:00 p.m. prior to the service at Faith Lutheran Church. Graveside services will be held at Bohemian National Cemetery in Hayward, MN, at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, May 2, 2008, with a reception to follow at the Bayview ~ Freeborn Funeral Home in Albert Lea, MN.

Bill was born in Manley, Iowa on April 12, 1932 to Earl and Rose (Kermes) Adams. He graduated from Manley High School in 1950 and went on to attend the University of Iowa undergraduate and School of Law Juris Doctor in 1958. He practiced law in Sioux City in private practice from 1961 1963. Bill was the attorney for the Woodbury County Board of Supervisors from 1967 1972. He was sworn in as a magistrate judge on June 1, 1975 and with a change in the job title, served as a district associate judge for 22 years. Bill retired from his judgeship in 1997 and was quoted in the Journal I will be sorry to leave the people. I like people; I see a lot of people. I will miss that.

Bill was a very loving and kind man. His gregarious nature made him warm up to people quickly. He was an avid Iowa Hawkeyes and St. Louis Cardinals fan and spent many enjoyable hours with his family at the games. He loved to garden, golf, and fish and follow the news. He grew beautiful roses, peaches and nectarines in Sioux City (that would make Colorado jealous). He was a wonderful father and will be missed deeply by his family and friends.

He is survived by his brother, Jim (Karen) Adams of Dallas, TX; sister-in-law, Donna Adams of Davidson, NC; and numerous nieces and nephews. His family includes Glenna Adams; children, Vickie (Charles) Trefz of Sioux Falls, SD; Robert (Dianna) Reynolds of Richardson, TX; Linda (Jerry) Koch of Sioux City, IA; John (Kristin) Adams of Bloomington, IL; Betsy (Mike) Noble of Omaha, NE; Amy (Jim) Adams-Miller of Chicago, IL; grandchildren, Eric (Heather), Andy (Erin) and David Trefz, Barrett Reynolds, Ginny Rogers, Sydney and Will Adams, Aaron and Alycia Noble, Aly and Elizabeth Miller, great grandchildren, Sam and Isabella Trefz.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents, and a brother John.

The family wishes to thank all of the caring people who provided care and support to him through his illness, especially his neighbors, and Hospice of Siouxland and the caring people at Synergy Home Health Care.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are requested in the form of charitable donations to the June E. Nylen Cancer Center of Sioux City or Hospice of Siouxland.