Gary Stephen Adams

Gary Stephen Adams was born on Warrington, England Air Force Base on May 11, 1957, and passed away on Thursday, December 15th, 2022, at his Westminster, California home. He was surrounded by his wife and his 2 children.

He had recently been diagnosed with duodenal-pancreatic cancer that unfortunately metastasized to his liver. He spent the last 3-1/2 weeks remotely taking care of his welding business with the physical support of his foreman and his crew members. He decided not to accept any experimental treatment and was in hospice care at home for the last 2 weeks.

Gary grew up in Idaho and Long Beach, CA and was an avid fan of extreme sports during his younger years. He was extremely competitive in everything he did, and even placed 2nd place in the state for wrestling in high school.

He graduated from Wilson High School and attended Long Beach City College, where he learned to weld to make his grandfather proud, who also shared the same trade.

He loved surfing in Newport, Huntington Beach, and Baja California beaches and loved to surf in and out of the legs of the pier. Later he got into motocross and enjoyed taking family trips to Gorman, CA. Gary played golf for several years across Southern California and eventually became a member at Seacliff Country Club, where he enjoyed spending time with friends and possible customers. He said he wasn’t playing, he was “networking.”

Over the years Gary was very well known for having vast experience and knowledge across various industries, such as Welding, Sportfishing, Video production, etc. He was an open book and he was never shy about getting to know people and developing business contacts.

He was the proud owner of the TIDE CHANGE where he was an expert angler and joined the ‘Bad Boyz of Big Fish’ club with some close friends in the industry. He loved taking his family and especially his 2 sons Alan and Chris to the Fred Hall Fishing show and sharing his passions with the people he cared for the most.

He always supported his sons in the sports they played, as well as any kid/team they were playing with, without taking any credit. He enjoyed seeing kids’ faces light up when getting pizza or an ice cream after a great game. When it came to watching sports, he was a Raiders fan (despite of the score), and even had his favorite seats at the Angel’s games and ended up even making friends with the camera man. Gary always took pride in the house he built and developed a green thumb to grow many crops such as: grapes, lemons, blackberries, pomegranates, etc.

He had a great passion and love for animals of any kind and species. Over the years, he had numerous dogs, birds, fish, and reptiles at home. He was often referred to as the “animal whisperer” by his wife. His legacy to the family is his Sulcata tortoise named Turbo, his red iguana named Sammy, and his recent puppies Toby and Booboo Bear. He had a special love for jet black German Shepherds and always wanted an opossum as a pet.

Despite all this, his true passion and longest ongoing trade was welding. Gary owned his own company for over 35 years, and it devastated him to know it was coming to an end. His work ethic was outstanding, and he never wanted to let anyone down. He would constantly go above and beyond for his clients and even fight through severe sickness and pain just to get a job done. He wore his company shirt proudly every day; even at the hospital because he said that it was part of “networking”.

Gary is survived by his wife of 20 years- Rebeca, and his 2 sons- Alan (29) and Christopher (18). Furthermore, he survived by his father Alan, and younger siblings: Michael, Brad, Curtis, Casey, Tracy, Mike, and his sister-in-law Pam and numerous nieces and nephews.

The memorial is taking place on Wednesday, December 28th at Dimond and Shannon Funeral Home. Located at 10630 Chapman Ave, Garden Grove, CA. 92840. Doors open at 4:00 p.m., Service is at 5:00 p.m. Closed casket visitation. He will be cremated, and his remains will be scattered at sea, per his last wishes. Casual and sports attire is encouraged - Gary's favorite attire.

It will be live streamed for those that may not be able to attend the service.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.dimondshannonmortuary.com for the Adams family.