Barbara Ann Adams

Barbara Ann Adams, 86, of Noblesville, passed away on Saturday, June 29th, surrounded by her loved ones. She was born on August 11th, 1937, to Marion and Marjorie (Moser) Hume in Lebanon, Indiana. Barbara was a devoted Farmer’s Wife, Mother, and astute Businesswoman. She was a founding member of the Hamilton County Homemakers Club, A Founding Leader and Member of The Hamilton County 4H Program. She was a Founding Member of The Hamilton County Antique Tractor Club, she was a leader and founding member of the Hamilton County Co-Op. She became a School Bus Driver for Noblesville School Corporation in 1984, and specifically requested to drive and care for students with Special Needs for twenty years. She was a staple in the Noblesville Chamber of Commerce, and for over twenty years opened and operated County Gift Corner (Country Corner). She was a Master Gardener through the Hamilton County Extension Program, and was quite the talented Florist, with a successful business of arranging florals for nearly thirty years.

She is preceded in death by the love of her life for nearly 60 years, Jimmie Jarome Adams. Together they had one of those great unshakable relationships that many aspire to obtain. She met Jim while she was in her last two years of high school. They met at a get together and he took quite a strong liking to her. As Barb would tell it, back in the day things were a bit different. She had expressed to her father that she wanted to learn to drive and was told no repeatedly. Jimmie and Barbara began courting, and after talking it through with her father, Jim did not ask, but rather told Barb’s father that he was not only going to teach her to drive but help give her whatever she wanted to work for. They became inseparable and were wed after she graduated. Barb became a Mother to the firsts of four gifted and tenacious children in 1957, having a son, Dennis W. Adams, followed by her daughter, Cheryl L. Adams, born in 1959, who preceded her in passing in 2015, then blessed with her son Michael L. Adams in 1961, followed by her youngest daughter, Jancie K. Adams (Doss) in 1963.

  Together, with hard work, dedication, and a fervent trust in their Lord Jim and Barb Owned and Operated Adams Family Farms. Their family farm operation on Summer Road was home to Dairy Cattle, Pigs, and a dedication to various Row Crops over the years. Barbara spent many years not only overseeing the day-to-day business dealings of their farm, but worked countless hours at the Noblesville Grain Elevator, and Hamilton County Co-Op doing their books. She was a fierce Mathematician. Often times you could find her at the end of the day, in her comfy chair, with her reading glasses on- Calculator on her Right leg (being ferociously pecked at by the eraser end of her pencil) as she never broke eye contact with her financial Ledgers on her Left leg.

No matter what came up at the farm, Barbara was resolute to not only find a sensible solution, but to see things through to the end. There was absolutely no quit in her. Never more apparent when the 1980 Embargo swept across the United States. At the time her and Jims’s farm had grown to be one of the largest operations in Hamilton County. She said she’d never forget where she was and what happened the day the markets fell. She was in the Kitchen and the bank called to tell her that the Adam’s operation was going under as well. She hopped in her Super Sport Camaro and drove right through the Corn Field to where the boys were shelling corn. She immediately became proactive. She made it her mission to do whatever she could to save their operation and was resolute in her determination to make sure she and Jimmie could help prevent the same thing happening to as many other Farms as possible. They came up with the “Hot Line”, called The Indiana Coact and, through their hot line, were providing fellow farmers with a shoulder to cry on and a place to turn for advice on how to deal with increasingly hard-line lenders. They helped Stage “Penny Auctions” to thwart or postpone closeout sales. The idea was to intimidate potential serious bidders, offer no more than a penny on each sale item and win extra loan-negotiating time for the troubled farmer. It worked. And when the time came for lenders to come haul away the Adam’s Family Farm Equipment – Barb’s neighbors returned the favor for all of her and Jimmie’s dedication to the effort. Over time she facilitated a plan to bring them back from collapse, and today, even though she and Jim are no longer with us, her boys are still able to farm to this date due to the sheer whit and determination she was so well-known for.

 Barbara was talented and had many hobbies. She loved to garden and would aptly remind folks to deadhead their plants in the morning, and water of an evening. She and Jim were avid International Harvester / Farmall enthusiasts. They spent years together traveling by RV to various Red Power Round-up Conventions, and Antique Tractor gatherings. She had a serious penchant for collecting Fancy Ceramic, Glass and wooden tiny shoes, Stoneware, Antiques and anything remotely fashionable. She loved to garden and can, but most of all – across the board she will likely most be remembered for her love of cooking and loving her family as if it was the only thing she was put on this Earth to do.

Throughout the years Barbara insisted on opening her home to many of her Grandchildren and Great-Grandchildren. Even making a point to adopt a few. And when the home didn’t seem to be just quite full enough – she and Jim took on a few cousins and their kin throughout the years too. She was the epitome of REAL, WHOLESOME, UNRELENTING LOVE. It’s a well-known rule that no matter their age or size, her “babies” were never too big to curl up in her lap and get a hug from her in her revered comfy chair. Barbara Ann has left quite a lasting impression on those who were so very fortunate to experience that love. Often in the form of very blunt, matter-of-fact advice – followed by her infamous embrace – that left you smelling like this perfect blend of her favorite perfumes and ‘Supper’ that she would inevitably insist that you stay to eat.

While her passing was unexpected at the time, she would have been the first to tell folks not to fret or fuss, and that “God had it all worked out.” So if you’re reading this, left in a bit of bewilderment like the rest of her loved ones- at the speed in which she left us, please take peace in that and the way she spoke with excitement when she talked about being able to be reunited with ‘Her Jimmie’, and walking in Heaven with her daughter and loved one’s that passed on before her. She would want you to remember to water your plants of an evening, and tell you not to forget to leave a light on in the kitchen, and thank you for being in her very full and abundant life!