Marcia Adams Obituary

Marcia Terwilliger Adams
Born: September 18, 1931 in DeKalb, IL
Died: December 19, 2025 in Davidson, NC
Marcia Terwilliger Adams, resident of Davidson, North Carolina, died after a brief illness with family by her side on December 19th, 2025. Her husband, Charles Collver Adams, preceded her in death in 2009.
Marcia Zoe, only child of George and Flora Terwilliger, was born in DeKalb on September 18,1931. George was the head of the Biology department at Northern Illinois University and Flo was payroll clerk at DeKalb Commercial Body. Marcia had the good fortune of growing up with six first cousins in DeKalb. She graduated at the top of her class at both DeKalb High and DePauw University and met Chuck at DePauw when they were their sorority and fraternity presidents.
Upon graduating in 1953 with a BA in Elementary Education, she taught 1st grade in Madison, Wisconsin for a year then married in 1954. Daughter Debbie was born in Homestead, PA while Chuck was in the service. Later, when Chuck was working for IBM, daughter Ginny was born while living in Hammond, Indiana and son Mark in Lansing, Illinois. In Lansing and in subsequent moves to Katonah, New York and Princeton, New Jersey, Marcia balanced motherhood and community involvement. Her commitment to daily exercise led her to become the leader of a daily YWCA exercise class in Princeton which she expanded to water exercise and continued wherever they lived.
Although trained to work with young people, she found her true calling working with older adults in care facilities. She was hired as Volunteer Coordinator of the Merwick Unit of the Medical Center in Princeton. When an opportunity for early retirement arose for Chuck, consulting with IBM in Charlotte, North Carolina, they moved to the River Hills Community in Lake Wylie, South Carolina.
In 2008, they returned to the vibrant life of a college town by moving to The Pines at Davidson. Marcia enjoyed auditing music classes and attending basketball games at the college. She made a point of getting to know new Pines residents by hosting pie parties in her apartment and used her culinary skills at church to mentor adolescent girls.
Marcia leaves behind her three children and spouses: Deborah (Richard) Leavitt of Dover, New Hampshire, Virginia (Francis Rack) Adams of Hilliard, Ohio and Mark (Linda) Adams of Cromwell, Connecticut. She leaves six grandchildren and spouses/partners and one great-grandchild.
Her memorial service will be held on Saturday, January 31st at the Davidson United Methodist Church at 2:00 pm with a reception following at The Pines. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Davidson United Methodist Church Bags of Hope Fund to prevent childhood hunger, WDAV, or the Pines Resident Support Fund. Access the full online obituary at: https://www.jamesfuneralhomelkn.com/obituaries/marcia-adams-2/obituary