CLASS of ‘66 LONGTIME ALLY ROY ADAMS passed away last month with his family members by his side. Although he was in the WHS Class of 1965, Roy was an ally of the Class of 1966 through his longtime friendships with several of our classmates. His most notable friendship was with our classmate Stella Romero, who in 1968 married Roy in the Catholic Church officiated by Father Leberer in Security. In his mid-June 2021 email letter, Roy wrote:
“Donnie, thank you for being Stella’s lifelong friend. She and I divorced in 1983 after 15 years and three children. For the next 17 years, we barely spoke to one another except for issues related to the kids. But then came January 2000, and a life-threatening incident for me. I had a liver problem that two doctors said gave me six months to live. On top of that I had an ice-related fracture of my hip, which required two surgeries and a whole month in the hospital. Our daughter Jolene and our son Jeremy stepped up and moved me near them in Texas. Stella had only recently left Germany and was living in Arizona, and she came here expecting to see me for the last time. Long story short, the last 21 years have been the longest six months of my life, and she and I renewed our friendship and had many visits with one another. She was last here about a month before her death in December 2020, and we had a delightful visit together. She was loved by us all, and will be missed with our love for her memory.”
Roy’s classmate Lyle Wikner (Class of 1965) wrote in a March 2022 post on Facebook: “Roy had a tremendous sense of humor and will be sorely missed.”
Roy will be laid to rest with full military honors at 10:15 a.m. on Friday, April 15, at Fort Logan Cemetery in Denver. After the burial, attendees will gather for lunch to celebrate Roy’s life at the home of his sister Lorraine’s family in Denver. To respect the privacy of Lorraine and other Adams family members, their street address will not be stated in this update nor will their address be posted on our website that is accessible to anyone in the public. If you plan to attend the luncheon to celebrate Roy’s life, please RSVP to:
Roy’s surviving sisters are Leigh (WHS Class of 1962) and Lorraine (WHS Class of 1973). He did not have any brothers. Listed below is the obituary about Roy.
Roy I. Adams III died on March 11, 2022 at the age of 74. He passed away peacefully with his family by his side. Roy was born in Providence, Rhode Island on January 16, 1948. As the son of a career Army officer, Roy spent his childhood growing up in Mobile, Alabama; New Orleans, Louisiana; Agana, Guam; Yokohama, Japan; Brooklyn, New York; Orleans, France; Ft. Campbell, Kentucky; and, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Having the same name as his dad, Roy’s nickname was Chip, as in “a chip off the old block.” He is preceded in death by his parents, Roy I. Adams Jr. of Providence, Rhode Island and Mary Evelyn Crocker Adams of East Providence, Rhode Island.
Roy graduated from Widefield High School in Security, Colorado in 1965. He later joined the Air Force in December 1967. He was a writer and editor for several military newspapers, including The Stars & Stripes in Europe. Roy was assigned to DaNang Airfield in Vietnam in 1971 and served as editor of the Gunfighter Gazette. Throughout his Air Force career he received numerous awards and honors for his achievements in writing and public affairs. Being stationed all around the world, Roy lived a very full life. He enjoyed traveling to what he called “places most Americans can’t even find on a map.” He served 21 years honorably and retired as a Senior Master Sergeant. After retiring from active duty, Roy continued working as a reporter for the Air Force Times and in public affairs at Sheppard AFB in Wichita Falls, Texas.
As well as being a gifted writer, Roy’s hobbies included photography, cooking and baking, playing golf, traveling and political activism. He often shared his op-eds in the Tyler newspaper.
Roy is survived by the following family members:
— His daughter Jolene Oster and her husband Paul and their three sons, Tyler Oster, Ryan Oster,
Davis Oster, who are Roy’s grandsons. Also surviving is Roy’s great-grandson Joon Oster and Roy’s other grandchildren Naomi, Jenna, Nathan and Jonathan.
— His sons, Jeff Adams and Jeremy Adams;
— His sister Leigh Dolin and her children, Kerry Hernandez and Christie Webb, who are Roy’s nieces.
— His sister, Lorraine Gmiter and her husband Bill Gmiter, and their children Clinton and Danny, who are Roy’s nephews.
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OUR CLASSMATE CHERYL MINEHART’S SISTER PEGGY recently passed away on March 21, 2022, at age 67 (born October 16, 1954). Cheryl wrote: “She provided all the care for our bedridden mother for thirteen months until she was no longer able to do so at the end of December 2021. At that time Peggy went back to her home where she was confined to her bed until her death. Hospice provided her care at home. She survived breast cancer in 1996 and was shortly thereafter diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Her entire life was spent diligently keeping those two diseases at bay, yet ten years ago cancer was discovered in the remaining breast, which at that time was Stage IV as it had metastasized to her entire body. Paul, her dutiful and loving son who lived with her, was at her bedside. Peggy was the most beautiful one of my four sisters. Her many years of pain and struggling to survive are finally over. May she be at peace.”
[Note from Donnie: In addition to the death of her sister, Cheryl’s mother passed away two months ago on January 29, 2022.]
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FEEDBACK from READERS includes the below-listed entries that were submitted in response to information contained in previous updates.
I just finished reading all of the beautiful comments [January 2022 update] regarding Tom's passing. I laughed and cried through all of them. I remember all of you so well and it takes me back in time. We had his Celebration of Life service on January 19th. It was a beautiful service and truly did celebrate his life!! We will be taking his ashes to a small town in Kansas just outside of Dodge City for burial the first part of April. This is a generational cemetery where all of my relatives are buried. Warren, I found in Tom’s desk a CD (“Flash on the Prairie”), which you autographed for Tom. I have been playing that and wish I could attend a concert in person.
I send love and prayers to all of you. May the years ahead be kind to all of us!!
— Drinda Dawson Nigbur, Class of 1967, wife of Tom Nigbur
Interesting, I really liked the Flash story [January 2022 update]. That $100 for their gig sounded so low but when you look at it in today's dollars, it doesn't look quite as bad. If my math is correct, the 2021 dollar correction would be about $734, say they played for 5 hours at $147 an hour divided by 5 is over $29 per guy per hour. In 1969 I went to work for Ampex as a technician trainee for $2.85 or $21 adjusted. Times they be a changing!
— Lyle Wikner, Class of 1965
[Note from Donnie: Lyle’s feedback referred to the article about the Flash Cadillac five-member band, which received $100 for their first paid performance in March 1969.]
I loved reading the article [January 2022 update] about Bruce McAlexander liking the spaghetti Westerns. We loved them, also. The sound score is something my kids grew up with and loved also. I have the CDs and play them frequently. Enrique something-or-other was very famous for his movie scores. They’re all beautiful.
— Cheryl Minehart Belt, Class of 1966
[Note from Donnie: Her reference to “Enrique something-or-other” actually is Ennio Morricone, the Italian composer who created music for hundreds of films. He is widely considered one of the most prolific and greatest film composers of all time.]
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TO VISIT OUR CLASS WEBSITE that was assembled and has been maintained since April 2009 by our Class Committee member and Webmaster, Paul Snell, please go to: www.1966whs.com
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That’s all, folks. [Those are the same three words that the famous 1950s cartoon character Porky Pig always used upon ending each episode.]
This update was prepared by me.
Respectfully submitted,
Donnie Martínez (April 1, 2022)
Security — grade school thru graduation 1966
Known in Security by stepdad’s surname Collier
Martínez is my birth certificate and legal surname