Adams praised for legacy she left behind
The widow of Adams Fairacre Farms co-founder Ralph R. Adams Jr., she opened a mental health practice
Doris K. Adams, the widow of Adams Fairacre Farms co-founder Ralph R. Adams Jr., died Friday in South Carolina a 95.
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. » Doris K. Adams, a “proud member of Dutchess County’s business community,” died Friday, Jan. 15, in Fort Mill, S.C., according to her obituary and a statement from Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro.
Adams, 95, died at her home in South Carolina, according to an obituary published online by the Burgess Funeral Home and Crematory of Lancaster, S.C.
Originally from Dansville, Adams was the daughter of Simon and Edith King and the widow of Poughkeepsie businessman Ralph R. Adams Jr. of Adams Fairacre Farms, whom she met while attending Cornell University, according to the obituary. Ralph Adams died in 2014.
After raising four children and returning to school to earn her master’s degree from Fordham University, Adams worked as a social worker in the field of mental health and opened her own practice, according to the obituary.
A statement on the Adams Fairacre Farms Facebook page said, “We are deeply saddened to share the news of the passing of Doris Adams … It’s said that behind every great man is a great woman, and Doris Adams proved that. She never failed to be supportive of Ralph’s farming endeavors, whether he was in the fields or, later, the store. Every bit the elegant lady, it might surprise you to know Doris loved life on the farm and even drove the tractor in the early years!”
In an email, Molinaro said, “Dutchess County is richer, our economy stronger and sense of place more brilliantly defined because she loved her husband, family and the business they built.
“Dutchess is grateful to this gracious, strong, compassionate woman and the legacy she leaves among us.”
Adams Fairacre Farms operates stores in Lake Katrine, Newburgh, Wappinger and its original site in Poughkeepsie. The Adams store on Route 9W in Lake Katrine opened in 1981.
The company’s website said the business originated from a roadside farm stand in 1933 that eventually evolved to the flagship store in Poughkeepsie.
Ralph Adams Jr. and his brother, Donald Adams, expanded in 1960 when the Poughkeepsie store, located on state Route 44, opened its doors.
Adams Fairacre Farms is recognized for focusing on high-quality foods, much of which is produced or grown locally.
The four stores employ about 1,000 people and work with hundreds of local vendors and farms.
An employee at the Poughkeepsie store said the family could not be reached on Sunday.
Adams is survived by her son Mark and daughter-inlaw Sue, her son John, her daughter Mary and son-inlaw Ed Droge, her daughter Annie and son-in-law Scott Craft, her grandchildren Angela, Becky, Abigail and Warren, her great-grandchildren Ambika, Priya, Annabelle and Henry and many nieces and nephews.
A memorial service honoring Adams’ life will be planned for the spring in Poughkeepsie. There will be no calling hours. A private burial is planned at The Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery.
The family has requested that donations in Adams’ honor can be made to the National Association of Mental Illness by at www.nami.org, to the Beatrix Farrand Garden Association at www.beatrixfarrandgardenhydepark.org or by mail to the association at P.O. Box 315, Hyde Park, NY, 12538.