Jerry V Adams

As a born again believer (John 3:1/7 and I Peter 1:23) in Jesus as the Christ and the Son of the Living God, Jerry’s soul went to heaven to be present with the Lord (II Corinthians 5:8) awaiting the resurrection of the bodies of believers (I Corinthians 15:52) as the Lord promised. (John 11:25 and I Thessalonians 4:14/18)

For many years, Jerry taught the Sanctuary class of the former East Lake Baptist Church and The Seekers Bible class (Matthew 6:33) of Brainerd Baptist Church where he was a member. Jerry was an exponent of dispensational Christian theology and an avid Bible student who studied for several years under Ted DeMoss, President of the Christian Business Men’s Committee, and the teachings of Howard C. Estep, J. Vernon McGee, and others. He wrote the book Christian Bible Challenge and a prophecy series which he provided to the Bible study class participants, family members, and others.

A native of Chattanooga, Jerry’s ancestors came to Virginia from Western Europe in the 1700s then settled in middle Tennessee about 1800 shortly after Tennessee was admitted to the Union. His grandparents moved to Chattanooga in the early 1900s. Horace G. and Mattie May were his parents, and his sister is Charlene Bankston. Another sister, Bobbie Jean Ballard, died in 2011.

Jerry married the girl he greatly loved, Diane Clark, daughter of Robert L. and Doris Towers Clark. They met when he was 17 and she was 15 and became a matched pair for life. Their children are David Clark Adams of Chattanooga and Bonnie Elizabeth (Mrs. Brumley Smith) of Columbus, Georgia. Their grandchildren are Taylor and Lindy Adams and Elley and Clark Smith. Their great-grandson is Jackson Daniel Adams, Son of Christi Wilson. Their daughter-in-law, Kelly Adams, predeceased him.

After graduating from the University of Tennessee in 1965, Jerry practiced accounting for more than fifty years. He was a founder of the Decosimo CPA firm in 1971 with Marion Fryar and his senior business partner Joe Decosimo. With God’s blessing, the firm grew rapidly to exceed one hundred CPAs. After thirty years as the firm’s managing partner, Jerry relinquished his management role but continued practicing with the Decosimo firm in senior roles as a business and tax advisor. Kathy Seymour was his long time assistant.

Jerry wanted his obituary to express his gratitude to the many wonderful clients he had the opportunity to serve, to the exceptional staff with whom he worked, and for the volunteer opportunities to serve his profession and his community. He served on the boards of the Salvation Army of Chattanooga and Bible in the Schools for more than twenty-five years.

Jerry’s family wishes to thank Dr. Sumeet Bhushan, Dr. Jitendra Ghandi, Dr. Hunter Jennings, Dr. Richard Moody, Dr. Chirag Patel, the late Dr. Ronald Brooksbank, the staff at Chattanooga Imaging, Memorial Hospital, and Erlanger Hospital for the excellent medical treatment they provided Jerry through the years. Their care extended his time here on earth as well as his quality of life. A special thank you to Janet Weise, RN and Avalon Hospice for their comforting end of life care.

A celebration of Jesus’s redemption and salvation of Jerry will be held at 3PM Saturday at Chattanooga Funeral Home East Chapel, 404 South Moore Road with the Rev. William Jacques officiating. Visitation will be from 2-3 PM Saturday and again following the service for one hour. Jerry was an organ donor, and his body was buried at Forest Hills Cemetery.