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(DE) Senate leader Thurman Adams dies at 80
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Candidate
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| Contributor | Scott³ |
| Last Edited | Scott³ Jun 23, 2009 10:59pm |
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| Category | Obituary |
| Author | JEFF MONTGOMERY |
| Media | Newspaper - Wilmington (DE) News Journal |
| News Date | Wednesday, June 24, 2009 04:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | "Senate President Pro Tem Thurman G. Adams Jr., a stately figure and a Democratic power in the Senate for more than a generation, died early this morning after hospitalization for pancreatic cancer, family members have confirmed.
Adams, 80, was admitted to Kent General Hospital on June 15. Doctors confirmed the nature of his illness only shortly before his death, said his daughter, Lynn Kokjohn of Rehoboth Beach. He would have turned 81 on July 25.
“It was very fast,” Kokjohn said. “He went to the governor’s lunch on Tuesday and then the doctor called him because of some blood work and said ‘I don’t like your levels. I want you to get to the hospital.’”
“He was talking yesterday with [grandson] Drew, making sure that certain tributes were ready for the [Delaware State] Fair, for the governor to sign,” Kokjohn said. “He was still working. He was still thinking of all of that.”
Family members have not yet completed funeral arrangements.
Sen. Robert L. Venables Sr., D-Laurel, described the news as a shock.
“It’s a shock to me. He was, I guess, my closest friend. It’s not going to be the same,” Venables said.
Adams’ legislative career began in 1972, when the 44-year-old feed store owner was first elected to the Senate after serving for years on the state Highway Commission and Governor’s Safety Committee.
He set a record for length of service in the Senate.
As a legislator, some of his proudest accomplishments included a bill that provided for an enhanced 911 system that automatically gives dispatchers the address from which a call is originating.
Not long after the system went into place, it helped rescue a New Castle County woman who was abducted and held captive. When she was able to temporarily elude her captor and dial 911, the operator knew her location because of the system." |
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