Vincent Darrel Adams

Vincent Darrel Adams, Sr, businessman, real estate investor, Navy veteran, and yachtsman passed away on Tuesday, December 11. The relatives and friends of Vincent Adams, Sr. are invited to attend his Funeral Service on Friday, December 14, 2012 in St. Andrews Church, Whilden Street, Mt. Pleasant, SC at 3:00 pm. Burial will follow in St. Paul's Lutheran Cemetery, McCants Drive. The family will receive friends on Thursday, December 13, 2012 in J. HENRY STUHR, INC., MOUNT PLEASANT LOCATION from 5:00 pm until 7:00 pm. Vince, or "Vink" as family and some friends called him, was the only child of Dennis Gilbert Adams and Cora Ann Becton Adams, born March 30, 1927 in Rocky Mount, NC. He met Mary Lucille Mangum in the eighth grade and they began dating in the tenth grade. He quit high school to join the Navy in World War II, where he served on the USS Duchess. After the war he was able to use the GI Bill to attend The Citadel as a veteran student, so he and Mary were married in December of his freshman year. Six years, a small vending machine business built one-half-dollar-at-a-time, countless part-time jobs (many times concurrently) and two children later, Vince graduated from The Citadel with a degree in Civil Engineering. He and Mary had always talked about returning to North Carolina when he graduated, but when that day arrived, they discovered that the place in their hearts called home was now Charleston. He created a number of businesses over the years and none failed, though most are now owned by others. Some survive today: Charleston Blue Print and Supply, Charleston Yacht Sales, and Adams Family Land Group.
Mary and Vince had lived in the city of Charleston until 1955, when they moved to Bay View Acres in Mount Pleasant, building a home on the creek, where they remained for ten years. During that time three more children were born. In 1965 they moved to Hobcaw Point, where once again they were on a creek, this time with a view of the Wando River, a view they grew to truly love. Vince was a member of St Andrew's Church Mount Pleasant, a former member of Hibben United Methodist Church, a member of The Hobcaw Yacht Club, The Carolina Yacht Club, a former member of the The Charleston Yacht Club, The Charleston Cruising Club, The Civil Engineering Club of Charleston, The Arion Society, South Atlantic Yacht Racing Association, The JayCees, The Mount Pleasant Cotillion, The Mount Pleasant Committee for Good Government, and he served on The Charleston Aviation Authority, as well as the Boards of Directors for Southern Bank and Trust, First Union, and SouthTrust Bank. Life always has its challenges and tragedies. In 1961, while in their 30's, their third child, 5 year old son Jeff died of adhesions formed as a result of surgery 12 months previous. One result was that Vince began looking for a family activity so that he could spend more time with the children. A friend Mike Seabrook introduced him to sailing, and he fell in love with it. Soon we were all out on the water. He went on to not only found Charleston Yacht Sales, but over the years, to teach many people how to sail. In 1970, their eldest son Darrel, a high school senior who'd been accepted to The Citadel for the following fall, was killed in a wreck by a drunk driver. These tragedies challenged them mightily but drew the family closer to one another, and closer to God. Vince made the decision to take the two younger children out of school for a year as he and Mary set off on a voyage aboard their boat. She home-schooled Scott and Beth as they sailed south. They explored the Bahamas and ended up buying a piece of property on Green Turtle Cay, where they remodeled a building into a home and made life-long friends, where they were known as "Wince and Mary Hadams" in the local vernacular. In 2005 Mary suffered a fall which resulted in two brain surgeries and a very grim prognosis. While she was unconscious in the ICU, Vink would kiss and stroke her hand, all the while whistling Stardust. Much to his delight she recovered and they enjoyed four more years before Alzheimers required moving him to a memory care unit.Surviving are his wife of 66 years, Mary M Adams of Mt Pleasant, SC, daughter MaryAnn Adams Dunham and her husband Samuel; son Scott Dennis Adams and his wife Kelly, and daughter Beth Adams Colley and her husband Larry, all of Mount Pleasant, SC; eight grandchildren: Coby Griffin, Meghan Griffin Sternberg, Sam Dunham, III; Courtney Adams, Scott Adams, Jr., Lucy Renneker, Jamie Renneker, and Adam Colley; and two great grandsons. He was preceded in death by two sons: Vincent Darrel Adams, Jr. and Jeffrey Craig Adams.
The family would like to thank the wonderful staff at Savannah Grace for taking such good care of Vince and his family. A special thanks goes out to Diane Johnson who has helped take care of Vince for the last three years and has been unwavering in her love, support and devotion to the entire family. Memorials may be made to St. Andrew's Church Land Trust, 440 Whilden Street, Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464 or to the Citadel Brigadier Foundation, 171 Moultrie Street, Charleston, SC 29409.