Mark Thomas Adams

Mark Thomas Adams passed from this life on to his eternal home on January 22, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was born on April 12, 1951 to his parents, Frank and Delores Adams. Mark was the older of two children, sharing his childhood with his sister, Leandra Adams Phillips who preceded him in death on March 1, 2016. Mark’s family grew up in Chicago, Illinois. He would always tell his sister that she was adopted. Obviously kidding but he was so serious, she believed him. Also, when they were younger, he would tell his little sister that there were magnets under the ice that pulled the ice skaters around.

Mark will be remembered as being just like his father in many ways. He would always make up stories and have his family and friends believe them. There were all very gullible and Mark loved it that way. Mark was a caring, loving Father, Husband and Pappa. He worked hard every day to support his family and for many years worked 12-14 hours a day, 6 days a week. He was very loyal and proud to work for Mercedes Benz for as a Mechanic then Service Advisor for Mercedes Benz for 30+ years. Mark was also a Dispatcher for Yellow and Con-way Trucking companies. Mark was a Catholic and attended St. Mary’s Catholic Church is Illinois and Our Lady of the Valley in California.

Mark attended St. Rita High School and graduated in 1969. He loved running track and was a proud member of the high school ROTC. Mark joined the United States Marine Corp after graduation serving from 1969 until1976 where he was responsible for the aviation radio equipment and their Tactical Communications. He used to go hunting with his Dad when they lived in Illinois while in high school. Mark loved watching The History Channel and War movies especially “Full Metal Jacket” as well as TV shows like “Married with Children”, “The Family Guy”, and CMT’s Top 20 music videos. Mark really enjoyed “A Christmas Story” which he watched every Christmas for 24 hours. He liked to just sit in the garage and listen to good country music such George Strait, Toby Keith, Alan Jackson, and of course, the Rolling Stones.

When asked where his favorite place to be was, Mark would always say that he loved the bars, especially the ones in Vegas at Excalibur Hotel where he was friends with the bartender Toby. Mark loved being at work to hear and tell stories. He always wanted to move back to Texas and live the country life. Mark was also known as “Pops” and of course, the various names a man usually receives from his wife when he did something wrong!

Friends and families remembered a list of favorite sayings that they would hear on multiple occasions such as: “I was born ready ….. ask your mother”. Mark would say “Frunch Room” for front room and “Batch room” for bath room. He liked to take his kids fishing at Troutdale in California were they fished with a bamboo poles and corn. They would also go to Castaic Lake for fishing trips.

Edwina met Mark at a high school basketball game with his best friend, Lyle Hubbard. That’s when Mark had his first car accident while driving back to Lyle’s house. Rumor has it that he must have been seeing hearts and visions of Edwina instead of seeing cars on the road!

*His Son, Mark – “Till this day, I still remember crying to Dad when I was 11 years old for a pair of Air Jordan shoes. None of the stores had them plus he couldn’t come to grip spending $100 on a pair of youth shoes. One day he put me in the car and I had no idea where we were going. We ended up at NIKE TOWN in Hollywood and came home with a pair of what would be called these days as the Air Jordan III’s. Since Dad worked for Mercedes Benz, Dad was my hook up for making my Honda Accord and Chevy S-10 one of the best looking cars around the area. From a custom Mercedes burgundy paint job on my Honda to lowering and customizing my Chevy truck, Dad always made sure I was driving in a chick magnet”.

* From his Daughter, Patricia: “He always used to wrap us kids up like burritos in a blanket so tight we couldn’t get loose. Mom would often tell me I couldn’t have money so my Dad would always sneak me money so I could buy and do things on the way home from school. He also taught me how to drive stick shift. One day we were practicing in his truck and we came upon a hill. Dad took a deep swallow as we approached the hill while a car was in back of us. We started rolling backward down the hill coming inches from the other car. Dad almost pooped his pants”.

* From his Wife, Edwina- “Mark and I always liked our trips to Chicago to see Uncle Carol & Uncle Gene. We didn’t travel much but we would always go and spend weekends in Las Vegas. We liked it so much we moved there. During the California earthquake “The Big One” in 1995, Mark would always joke about how he looked like in bed when the quake hit. He was on his back with his arms and legs up and looked like a cockroach trying to turn over”.

Mark married the love his life on April 15, 1972 in Chicago, IL to his sweetheart bride, Edwina Kruse. They were married over 44 wonderful years.

Mark was preceded in death his beloved parents, Frank and Delores Adams and his sister, Leandra Adams Phillips. His legacy will live on through his wife, Edwina Theresa Adams of Celina, TX; his daughter, Patricia Adams Lewis and her husband, Brien Lewis of West Tawakoni, TX; his son, Mark Adams II and wife Deena Denicola Adams and their two children Samantha and Ava Adams of Celina, TX.

Pallbears will be Brien Lewis, Mark Adams II and Darin Pfeiffer.

Mark was loved while he was here with us on earth, and will be continued to be loved through time and all eternity.