FARMINGTON – Beverly “Nikki” (Nicholson) Adams, 94, died peacefully March 18, 2020 at The Pierce House in Farmington where she had been a resident for the past five years. She was born April 30, 1925 in Leominster, MA, the daughter of Celtic and Marie E. (Dubour) Nicholson.
In 1943 she graduated from Leominster High School and then continued her education at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY graduating in 1947 with a BS degree in art education. The following year she attended Columbia University in NY City and graduated in 1948 with an MA degree in art education. In 1948, she was hired as the head of the Art Department at Farmington State Teacher’s College and taught courses in teacher preparation, figure drawing, painting, and crafts to attending students.
During that year, she met and married Thomas “Tom” F. Adams (he died in November 1987) of Farmington and left her teaching position to raise a family. Then in 1965, she resumed her teaching career by accepting a position as an art teacher for the area K-12 program. When Mt. Blue High School was built, she was asked to become the Art Department Coordinator for SAD 9, and transitioned to the high school to focus her teaching skills at the secondary level. During many summers, she attended specific art classes at Eastern Connecticut State College in Willimantic, CN, University of Southern Maine, Haystack School of Design in Deer Isle, and University of Maine at Orono to expand and enhance the high school curriculum.
Nikki was active in her community in many ways; she was involved with Monday Club and was president of that organization for 6 years, Brownie Scout leader, vice president of AAUW (University Women’s Group), Garden Club, Franklin County Auxiliary, and a member of the Old South Congregational Church. She had been dedicated to the Pierce House, a residential home for senior citizens, for 57 years, served as vice president, and several years as president, was on the executive board, and was a member of Friends of Pierce House. She was president and vice president of the county retired educators’ group and was legislative chair. Nikki had been a Bank Corporator for the Franklin Savings Bank, president of the Red Hat Ladies, Superintendent of the Congregational Sunday School and president of the Church Guild.
She was an avid traveler and enjoyed visiting artist’s studios. Her travels took her to England, China, Japan, Fiji Islands, Scotland, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Northern tip of Africa, Scandinavia, and France.
Nikki is survived by her sons, Scott T. Adams and wife Sylvia of Phillips, and Dan “Buzz” C. Adams and wife Sharon of Norridgewock; a daughter, Jaylin N. (Adams) Mohlar of Readfield; 4 grandchildren, Carrie M. Bacon and husband James of Marblehead, MA, Nathan J. Adams and wife Jennifer of Marblehead, MA, Teague B. Adams and wife Melanie of Bowdoin and Cailtyn Adams and fiancé Josh Hodges of Skowhegan; 8 great grandchildren, Austin, Sophie, Jaxon, Sawyer, Brooklyn, Emma, Parker and Gavin; numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. She was predeceased by her husband Thomas “Tom” F. Adams; parents; daughter, Debra B. Adams; and son-in-law, David K. Mohlar.
The family would like to express their gratitude and sincere appreciation to the entire staff at The Pierce House for the loving care and support Nikki received during her residency.
A graveside service will be held and announced later in the spring.
In lieu of flowers, friends wishing may make donations in Nikki’s memory to the Franklin County Animal Shelter, 550 Industry Road, Farmington, ME 04938.
Arrangements under the direction and care of Dan & Scott’s Cremation & Funeral Service, 488 Farmington Falls Road, Farmington, ME 04938.
To The Adam’s Family,
I first met your Mom & Dad
and entire family at Clearwater Lake.
My grandparents, Cliff & Melva Johnson also had a camp on the lake.
I was very young but I remember you all walking by grampas camp
pulling little smiling Debbie in her wagon to get to your cottage.
My grandparents and parents always thought so much of
both your Mom & Dad. They raised a wonderful family.
God Bless.
The Waugh Family
It is with a heavy heart to read of her passing. Mrs. Adam’s was one of my favorite teachers of all that I had at Mt. Blue High School. My thoughts and prayers are with her family. Hold all her creativity and warm memories close. She was a treasure!
So sorry on your loss Scott and Sylvia. Losing a mother is never easy. Julie
Mrs .Adams was the best art teacher ever! She pushed her students to try different medium in her art classes. She also made her students feel very capable. I still love and create art of many forms today! Mrs. Adams , thank you for being that gem of a teacher to me . ❤️
So sorry to hear this . Nick I was a wonderful person and very talented. I will always remember my art classes with her. Our sincere condolences to Scott and Dan and families, rest in peace Mrs. Adams.
My sincere condolences to the family. Mrs. Adams was an enthusiastic art teacher during my high school years. She definitely had a passion for teaching the arts. Glad she had such a full life for so many years.
Scott, Buzz, and Jaylin and Families –
Please accept our sincere condolences on the loss of your Mother, Grandmother, and Great Grandmother. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all.
My sympathies. Always enjoyed seeing Nikki! She is as a pleasurable to chat with.
My condolences to the family. Met her several times while doing work for the Pierce House. Very sweet lady.
Mrs. Adams was such a wonderful teacher. I always Loved her classes. She never made me feel inferior even though I had Limited natural talent. She taught me how to hone in to my limited abilities and come out with something that I was amazed at. She in later years became a friend and I so enjoyed her visits to the jewelry store. Sending my sincere condolences to the entire family. Please remember that she did make a difference to a great many of her students. Rest in Peace Mrs. Adams.
Scott, Dan & Jaylin, I am deeply saddened to see this, I have very fond memories of your mom till this day. You new she loved what she was doing because she was so good at it. Please accept my most sincerest sympathy to you and your families. May she R.I.P.
Scott, Dan, Jaylin & Family : My sympathies to you during this difficult time in life.
My sincere condolences to all of Nikki’s family. Thinking of you all at this difficult time.
To Nickie’s family: I’m very sorry for your loss. I had the pleasure of getting to know Nicki while working at the Peirce House. We had many good conversations. She was a very special lady, an impeccable dresser, sharp as a tack, very spry and opinionated. I remember being shocked when she told me her age! The world gave up a lovely lady, rest in peace Nicki.
My sincere condolences to the Adams Family.
Mrs. Adams means a lot to me, she was a favorite teacher at Mt. Blue.
I took as many art classes as I could. Then took her adult education jewelry making classes
for many years after graduation. I treasure those years of her being my teacher.
A while ago I saw her and her daughter Jaylin at Walmart, I am so pleased that I got to see and talk
to her one more time.
God blessed you, Mrs. Adams with many talents and thank you for share them with your students.
Mrs Adams was a JOY AND A PLEASURE TO KNOW.
God Bless the Adams Family and thank you for share your Mom and Grandmother with us.
My condolences to the Adams’ family for the loss; Nikki was so energetic and busy with her family and her community. She will be missed by many. Nancy Butler
Nikki was an organizer. She had a huge circle of friends in her retirement years, and was always organizing lunch dates – often for birthday celebrations. She was fun to talk with, and continued to exercise her artistic ability long after retirement.
I’m sure she felt the losses of all her friends, as she was one of the last survivors.
thank you for being a social fixture in Farmington.
Sorry to hear of Nicki’s passing. She was a very special lady. A great customer of Renys over the years. Memories of her and Mrs. Carnie. To see which one got there first to see the new line of Cathy Daniels. RIP Nicki
Our sincere condolences on your loss of your Mother. Memories are precious, hold them close.
My heart aches for the family .. Jaylin ..Nikki Adam’s was my favorite teacher ..she made me
Realize how beautiful art and the world is. She always encouraged
Even as adult .. what a gift she has been to our world. I just read this
And one of the most beautiful skies was displayed..I will always
Believe , she is sharing her art with us all .. fly with the Angel’s
Lovely lady 🎨🥰😇🥰🎨
So for your loss. Always very difficult
Such a wonderful woman. I so enjoyed her classes and encouragement. I can vividly remember her liveliness and could feel her positive energy. She was a true artist.One of my all time favorite teachers.😊💕
So sorry for your loss.
Nikki always made me feel welcome when I would see her at the Clearwater lake cottage. She was always up beat and very kind to me. A classy lady.
Sorry for your loss.
I met this wonderful, enthusiastic lady sharing a table with her on a trip to Cabbage Island years ago! She was witty, happy, so full of fun and life.
She knew about jewelry making too, which made me wish she was giving classes so I could learn to create my own earrings. In that short amount of time she inspired me, and filled the table with laughter.
What a whirlwind of a Lady…..!
Best art teacher and one of best at MBHS. She inspired me. My condolences to her family.
Sending condolences to the family. Nikki Adams was a name I heard often with great admiration from my mother Barbara Graff who met her through Monday Club, Garden Club and Old South.
My heartfelt condolences to Mrs. Adam’s family. Such an incredible loss to this community. I had her for an art teacher in high school and absolutely loved her. Always an amazing attitude!!
I was lucky to have known Nikki for my whole lifetime. She was a wonderful Clearwater neighbor to me and my Uncle Darrold and Aunt Jess. I enjoyed visiting with her for the past few years at Pierce House when I would to go the 4th of July parade – she never seemed to age. My condolences, and also from the rest of the Sinkinson/Nickerson families.
Buzz, Scott, and families
Sorry for your loss! I had spoken with your mother a number of times over the years and found her to be very pleasant and lovely lady.
Peter Neal
Sincere condolences from our family.
Scott, Buzz, & Jaylin, Am so very sorry for your loss. I loved your parents for all these years since I was your babysitter—a very long time ago!. (Can’t think of one without thinking of the other.) Having said that, Nikki has been a ‘constant’; I will treasure the friendship and miss our visits and our laughs. She was amazing!!! Sending love.
MRS
Scott so sorry to hear about your mom. My condolences to the family.
Scott, Jaylin and Buzz and whole Adams family,
Sending you all hugs, You all were her pride, joy and greatest treasures. I am blessed to have a lifetime of memories of both your mom and dad that I will hold in my heart and mind forever. As I always told her when I left every summer,, “It’s not goodbye, it’s until we meet again”.
Love to you all,
Beth
So sorry to hear of Mrs. Adams passing. She always had a friendly greeting for me during my visits to the Pierce House. What an accomplished professional and personal life! Sending love to all of her family members. Nancy
Dan, Scott & Family’s,
Our heartfelt condolences on the loss of your dear Mother.
It is evident from the beautiful obituary, that Mom lived long, loved without ceasing, and gave more than she ever took.
Walker Hutchins & J’Anna Hedrich
Our sincerest heartfelt condolences to Scott, Buzz, Jaylin and their families and friends…hugs to you all
To the Adams family, so sorry for your loss, I always enjoyed your Mom she was very kind and loving to all.
She was a great art teacher that encouraged you even if you did not have much talent as I was one of those students that she encouraged. She always spoke when I saw her in Wal Mart and always had a funny story to tell, and memories to share.
To all the Adam’s family,
It is so hard to loose a cherished loved one. May you know we share your sorrow and pray that God would give you the true peace and comfort that only He can give during this difficult time.
We were so sorry to hear of our old friend and colleague’s passing. I suppose we shouldn’t have been surprised, but Nikki never felt or acted her age in years. She was as timeless as her beautiful jewelry or her warm smile. To Scott, Buzz, and Jaylin, we send our sympathy for your loss. We’re glad we had more than 50 years to know her.
So sorry to hear of Nikki’s passing.
Dear Family Adams,
Our Mrs. Adams was the stuff that dream teachers/mentors are made of. I was just on a text chain with my sister Lisa, my brother, JP, Faith Webster and Tory Tyler Millar to inform them of her passing. Each one of recounted her remarkable ability to talk to her students as if we were adults . She expected excellence, if not in our talent, then in our commitment to learning forward and conducting ourselves as artful people. And we did.
I send all love and light your way. Please know that I carry her forward in my heart as one of the great influences in my developmental journey. Many thanks and much respect, dear Mrs. Adams.
Best,
Claudia Schneider Campbell
Dan, Scott and families
Very sorry to hear of the passing of your dear mother. My condolences to you and your family during this very difficult time. With this pandemic this has to be a very difficult time to grieve with this loss.
Gary Smith, Jim & Holly Fernald
Dear Buzz, Jaylin, Scott and family,
As Claudia just mentioned, your mother was an amazing person whom we, as students at Mt. Blue, had the very good fortune to have as our art teacher. She challenged us all to think, observe closely and then craft our individual creative responses to her assignments. Additionally, she also elicited comments from us, concerning our artwork, so that we could learn about each other’s thought processes during our classroom discussions.
Her art lessons were a reflection of college caliber classes that simultaneously taught us higher level thinking skills and respect for one another’s creativity.
One of my favorite classes that she instituted was a “student teaching” class. We created our own art lesson plans, which we presented in class to get feedback from our fellow students and Mrs. Adams. She then had us teach our lessons in actual elementary school classrooms within the district. This exposure to the classroom experience was one of the motivations for me pursuing art education, as a career, for 30 years.
Thank you, Mrs. Adams, for your very kind energy, generous spirit and above all, inspiration!
Please know that your family is in my thoughts.
Tory Tyler-Millar
Sorry for your loss. Mrs Adams was one of my many favorite teachers. She had a very special gift to allow our artistic abilities to shiners well as being a great listener.
My sincere condolences to the Adams family. Nikki was a treasure and I feel so blessed to have had a chance to get to know her. We had some great talks at the Pierce House and she always appreciated the love and support she always got from her family and friends. You are in my thoughts and prayers.
To all of Nikki’s family my sincere sympathy. She was a wonderful lady and will be greatly missed. Cherish all of your memories. They will help you through the days ahead. She is in a better place and flying with the Angels. RIP Nikki.
Scott, Buzz & Jaylin,
My sincere condolences to you folks and families. I have many fond memories of Nikki in High School Art classes, she was a fine Lady.