Rev. Ed Adams

Rev. Ed Adams, 83 years old, passed away December 22, 2015 at 6:20pm. He served as a pastor in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for 42 years. He was an Eagle Scout and participated in the Ky. Conservation Education Program his father helped found. He attended Davidson College (NC) until he decided to go into the ministry when he transferred to Transylvania University (Lexington, Ky) where he got his Bachelors of arts. He graduated from Lexington College of the Bible (now Lexington Theological Seminary in Lexington, Ky). While in seminary, he served his home church, First Christian Church of Lawrenceburg, Ky then Douglass Blvd Christian Church of Louisville, Ky as a Youth Pastor. He became ordained at First Christian Church of Lawrenceburg, Ky. He married Elaine Galloway Adams. His first pastorate was Minister of First Christian Church of Waycross, Ga. where he led them to build a sanctuary and start a live nativity scene. Next, he was the pastor of Friendship Christian Church in Athens, Ga. While at Friendship Christian, he led the construction of an office building, sanctuary and educational building. He also served as a volunteer Hospice Chaplain, fire station chaplain and started the volunteer chaplaincy program at St. Mary’s Catholic Hospital in Athens, Ga. He was the Associate Regional Minister Christian Church of Florida assisting the churches in the North Region of Florida and coordinating programming for the Florida Christian Conference Center Silver Springs, Fl (now The Retreat). As pastor to First Christian Church of Jacksonville, Fl provided leadership as they moved from downtown to South Jacksonville community of Mandarin. While he was at First Christian of Jacksonville, they built a fellowship hall, sanctuary and educational building. He served as a leader in Christian camps and conferences throughout his ministry at more than 55 camps. He retired in 1999. He is survived by his wife, Elaine Adams; his daughters: Amy Adams (husband Dan Lhotka), Marybeth Smith (husband Kelly Smith); his grandsons: John Adams Lhotka; David, Kevin and Joshua Smith; and his mother-in-law Marjorie Galloway. He will live on through all of us. His love was larger than life and we will be forever grateful for him. Services for the celebration of his life will be held Sunday December 27, 2015 2pm at Riverside Avenue Christian Church, 2841 Riverside Avenue, Jacksonville, FL. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Riverside Christian Church for camp scholarships.