Virginia L. Adams, 92 SAN MARCOS -- Virginia L. Adams went home to our Father in Heaven on Monday, August 8, 2011. Her prayers were answered when she passed away in her own home with her family by her side. Virginia was born in Grandview, Arkansas on August 4, 1919, to Nathan and Grace Ethridge. She attended local schools until she moved to Missouri for business college. She then returned to Berryville, Arkansas and worked as a clerk at the County Courthouse. Virginia married Earl G. Adams on Christmas Eve in 1941. While he was fighting with Gen. Patton's Third Army in WWII, she moved to Burbank, California to work in the secretarial pool at Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. At the war's end, Earl joined her in Burbank, where he became an independent real estate broker. Together they raised their three children - Ann, Sue, and Philip - in their house on the corner of Birmingham and Kenneth Road. Virginia was a true Southern lady, taking care of her home, providing home-cooked meals every night, and sewing clothes for her family. When her children were older, she went to work in the emergency room of St. Joseph's Hospital, collecting personal information from people during stressful times - always with the utmost sensitivity and care. Upon retirement, Virginia moved to San Marcos to be near her youngest grandchild. She enjoyed lunches at the San Marcos Senior Center, and Christian fellowship at Solana Beach Presbyterian Church. The family would like to thank her many friends, and her neighbors on Huntington Road, all of whom treated her with kindness, respect, and consideration. Virginia was preceded in death by her husband, Earl; beloved son, Philip; brothers, Donald and Nyle Ethridge; brothers-in-law, J.D. Douglas and Hugh Adams; cousin and lifelong friend, Bill Goodwin; and nephew, Elbert Akins. She will be missed and forever loved by her two daughters, Ann Ghidinelli and Sue Donaldson; daughter-in- law, Lyn Adams; sister, Louise Douglas; sister-in-law, Lena Ethridge; and many nieces and nephews. Last, but far from least, she was our cherished "Amma" to seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. A gravesite service and burial will take place at the Grandview Cemetery in Carroll County, Arkansas, where Virginia will be laid to rest with generations of her family members. Donations may be sent in her honor to the Deacons' Fund of Solana Beach Presbyterian Church, with the notation "Love Gift."

Published in North County Times on August 17, 2011