Robert Clinton Adams V
Robert Clinton Adams V, was born Aug 11, 1927, in Havre, Montana. He was the only son of Jean Beddoes Adams and Robert Clinton Adams, IV. He died October 8, 2010 at the age of 83.
He grew up in Bozeman, Montana where his father was football coach at Montana State College. and lived there until 1943 when the family moved to the Seattle area and he attended school in Federal Way. The family made several moves during the war years. The next move was to Houston where he joined the Sea Scouts, learning about boating on the bayous. He earned his Eagle Scout rank in Illinois before graduating from High School in in 1945 and then worked as a guide for Sommers Boy Scout Camp in Northern Minnesota before being drafted in September 1945. He served in the Signal Corps during WWII until discharge in December 1946. This began his interest in the field of electronics and he enrolled in engineering at Montana State College for one year then transferred to Purdue where he graduated in 1952. He followed his father to Boeing and worked first as a general draftsman and then as a flight test engineer for the remainder of his over 40 years with Boeing. He worked on all the major aircraft from the KC-135, to the 757, including the ‘Dash 80’ prototype of the 707, the first of the modern jet airliners. He had a variety of outside interests including flying, sailing, ham radio, and mountaineering; summitting the major peaks in the state of Washington. Most recently he volunteered as a docent at the Museum of Flight, where he put his long experience with flying and airplanes to good use. He pursued many of these activities with a group of friends and colleagues who gathered regularly in the summers for evenings of water skiing, boating and skiing trips.in the winter. He met his wife when the Mountaineer Players produced Androcles and the Lion, (he was Androcles, she was the lion), and they were married March 4, 1955, celebrating their 55th anniversary this year. He is survived by his wife, Marjorie, daughter Kathryn Adams Bradford, son Michael Adams, grandchildren Megan and Colleen Adams, and Christopher Bradford. A memorial service will be held on Friday, October 15, at 12:00 Noon at the First Presbyterian Church, 1717 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue, WA. Remembrances, in lieu of flowers, may be made to The Museum of Flight, Seattle, WA.