Mary Adams Obituary

Mary Cooper Adams

June 30, 1945 - June 28, 2025

Mary Cooper Adams, 79, of Richmond, Virginia, died on June 28, 2025, at home with her family.

Mary Cooper grew up in Martinsville, Virginia. She was an avid equestrienne and played basketball at Southern Seminary. She carried that athleticism into adulthood with golf and tennis, swimming in the ocean and chasing her children and grandchildren. She enjoyed bridge and mahjongg and jigsaw puzzles, any excuse to spend time with friends and family. She was a devout Episcopalian and sought to exemplify Jesus's principles by living a life of kindness, warmth, generosity and acceptance. Mary Cooper was happiest when she could help someone in need, never seeking thanks but basking in the quiet contentment of a good deed done.

She worked in a number of fields, but was most proud of her entrepreneurial efforts: in high school, she and her friends started a summer camp for the neighborhood kids, in Kernersville, N.C., she co-founded a residential real estate company and helped establish a new parish, and then in Richmond she opened and ran a boutique gift shop.

Mary Cooper was vivacious and fun-loving, always looking to rile up those around her with a snappy comment or a sassy joke. She could be sweet as pie (she was a debutante, after all) but she didn't shy away from colorful language (Daddy was a sailor, you know). Mary Cooper would be first to the dance floor, meet you at the bar and, until now, stay to clean up after the party. She taught us when to be serious, when to ignore the nonsense, how to laugh and, most importantly, how to love. We're heartbroken to lose her.

She is survived by her sister and brother-in-law, Sydnor (Adams) and Jev Sikes; her children and their partners, James Pronk and Jean Tate, William Still and Alletta Tate and Charlotte Sydnor Tate and James Euverard; her grandchildren, Catherine, Alex, Henry, Matthew, Belin and Wil; and her nieces, Morgan and Banner Adams, Charlotte Howard and Tori Olds. She was predeceased by her brother, John Kirk Adams, Jr.; and her parents, Charlotte Olivia (Simmons) Adams and John Kirk Adams.

The family invites you to celebrate Mary Cooper at a memorial service on August 9, 2025, at 2 pm at the Cedarfield Chapel, 2300 Cedarfield Parkway, Henrico, Virginia, with a reception to follow at Willow Oaks Country Club. She will be later laid to rest with her kin at Oakwood Cemetery in Martinsville, Virginia. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Alzheimer's Association.