Audrey Priscilla Adams

Audrey Adams was born on Feb. 15, 1939, in Shelley, Idaho. She joined the large, loving family of Leland and Ruby Collings as the 6th of their 8 children. Her older siblings, in order of birth, were Lois, Roy, Wallace, Max and Elaine. She had a younger sister, Althea, and a younger brother, Earl. With Audrey’s passing, only Elaine and Althea remain with us.

Audrey grew up in the Pacific Northwest. She was around 2 years old when her family moved to Washington State. They later moved to Portland, Oregon, where she graduated from Roosevelt High School.

Audrey was in her late teens when she met Jack Adams, a friend of her older brother Wally. He was 20 and she was 19 when they married in 1958. They settled in Albany, Oregon, where their two children, Blake and Ben, were born. The marriage lasted 14 years, ending in divorce in 1972. Audrey returned to Portland with her boys and was closer to her family while dealing with the challenges of being a single mom in the 70's.

Around 1980, Audrey started a new job with Deseret Industries in Portland, a thrift store owned by her church. She worked there for 22 years as an assistant to several managers, secretary to a unit manager, and Production Dept. Assistant. She typed documents including reports to Salt Lake City, sent notifications to local leaders when the DI truck was coming to their area, and assisted trainers in the Rehab Dept. It was a great job for her, and she appreciated the work environment. There was a spiritual component to it, and she was treated with respect by kind and decent men who lived their religion. Upon retirement she received a letter of appreciation from the First Presidency of her church.

A woman of faith, Audrey was a lifelong, faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She loved religion classes, served in various callings such as librarian in her local congregation, and in her later years loved serving in the Las Vegas Temple. As a direct descendant of Mormon pioneers who crossed the plains to Utah, she was proud of her heritage and joined the Daughters of Utah Pioneers in 2013.

During retirement, she lived a few years in Coulee Dam, Washington; then moved to Henderson, Nevada where she lived the remainder of her life. Her first few years in the Silver State were some of the most enjoyable in her life. Gradually her health declined, and in October 2021 she moved to an “Independent Living” home in Henderson. Her trip to the hospital in late February 2024 would be her last. After about a week and a half, she was moved to a hospice in Las Vegas. She died there on March 5, 2024, at the age of 85.

Audrey was a kind, caring and decent human being who loved her family and enriched the lives of many others as well. Her last bishop said, upon learning of her passing, “I love your mom and she was such a loving example to all of us in the ward."

The funeral will be held on Monday, April 1, 2024 10:00 am, at Bateman-Carroll Funeral Home, 520 W Powell, Gresham, OR 97030. Entombment will follow at nearby Forest Lawn Cemetery & Mausoleum, 400 SW Walters Drive, Gresham, OR 97080. All are welcome to either or both events.