BELLINGHAM, Wash. -- Jim Adams, a 1983 inductee into the Western Washington University Hall of Fame and longtime basketball coach at Snohomish High School, passed away on March 28 at age 81.
Adams, a 6-foot-3 forward, still holds WWU records for rebounds in a season (345 in 1962-63) and average rebounds per game for both season (12.8) and career (10.8), and his 800 career rebounds rank second all-time for the Vikings. He led Western in scoring and rebounding as a junior and senior, being named the school's Athlete of the Year in 1963.
An honorable mention NAIA All-American in 1963, Adams finished with 1,007 career points during his three-year career. He helped the Vikings to three straight NAIA District 1 playoff appearances, twice being named an All-Evergreen Conference and District 1 all-star.
Adams was a two-time team captain and Most Inspirational Award winner at Western and played on a Viking team that christened Carver Gymnasium on Dec. 6, 1961. Later he was named to Western's All-Century Team (1900-99).
At Snohomish, Adams was head basketball coach from 1978 to 1994. The Panthers made the playoffs in 11 of his 17 seasons (took leave of absence in 1991-92), including a streak from 1981-89. Snohomish won the Western AAA Conference title and finished fifth at the Class AAA state tournament in 1985 and 1987.
Born in Hoquiam, Washington, on July 19, 1939, Adams spent most of his early years at Lake Quinault. After graduation from Montesano High School in 1957, he attended Grays Harbor College, Washington State University and Western where he earned a degree in education.
Adams' first teaching job was at Edmonds High School, where he was an assistant coach for three sports. He coached for 10 seasons at Molalla (Oregon) High School, leading MHS to the state playoffs six times, including a ninth-place finish in 1975.
"There's nothing I would change about anything I've done with my life," Adams said when he retired from coaching at Snohomish. "Athletics has been really good to me. I've been involved with basketball basically since 1954 when I started playing. I've been around the game a long time, and I will miss it."
Besides Western's, Adams also was inducted into the Washington State High School Coaches Association and Montesano High Hall of Fame.
Adams was preceded in death by his father, Lewis Adams, mother Elizabeth Adams, and sister Suzanne Rowe.
He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Sally (Luark) Adams, brother Lewis Adams, sons Kirk (Roz) Adams and Jay (Sheri) Adams, daughter Melissa (Sam) Luna, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Jay played football at Western.
Adams treasured his friends and family and will always be remembered for his generosity of spirit, care and nurturing of others, and his uncanny ability to maintain humor and grace in any situation. He will be missed by his family and friends, and the thousands of young students and athletes that he inspired.
In accordance with his wishes there will be no public service.
