Meredith Elisabeth Jane "BeeJay" Adams of Bickford Cottage, formerly of 2303 Jersey, died on April 12, 2007. She was born at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri on June 9, 1920, the daughter of Alden Humphrey and Louise Marian Banta Seabury.

She was married to Merlin Francis Adams in Peoria on July 10, 1948. He died on February 14, 1977. She is survived by two sons, Stephen Kent Adams and his wife, Teresa and Mark F. Adams and his wife Leah, all of Quincy as well as 7 Grandchildren; Erin, Jill, Natalie, and Lauren Adams ;Nathan Crane, Natalie Crane and Nola (Crane) and her husband Steve Buckman; an adopted sister, Catherine "Kit" Anderson of Houston, Texas.

In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by her parents and a daughter, Elisa Lyn Adams.

BeeJay Adams' life was anything but routine. Prior to her marriage, she graduated from Bradley University in Peoria and started her career as a writer for the Peoria Journal Transcript covering the news of World War II. She was a disc-jockey for WMBS hosting the program "Record Reveille" In addition; she was the Women's Programming Director for WEEK in Peoria and eventually took that skill to KSD radio in St. Louis as part of the Nancy Dixon daily program, a popular shopping service program.

While in Quincy, her community activities included being the Elks Auxiliary President from 1954-56; Co-Founder and later named Life President of the Quincy Junior Theater in 1959; Board Member of the Quincy Art Club 1949-50, Theta Alpha Phi Academic Sorority and Pi Beta Phi Sorority; 1958 Chairman of the Quincy Community Chest; the Atlantis Study Group; Co-Chairman of the 1958 Adams County Heart Drive. A 1963 recipient of Who's Who in American Women; An active member of the Quincy Chapter of the American Red Cross, she served as a "Grey Lady" from 1960-64; Founder of the Quincy Chapter of the Panhellenic Council, designed to give the young, college-bound women of Quincy the proper preparation in choosing their appropriate sorority once on the college campus.

One of her greatest honors came as the Life President of the Quincy Junior Theater when she, in 1980, as a presenter and participant for the dedication of the Denver Center Cinema as part of the Denver (CO) Center of the Performing Arts. She was part of the celebration along with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.

Politics was always a passion for Mrs. Adams and she was introduced to the field by none other than Senator Everett Dirkson, a guest on her Peoria radio program. That chance meeting led BeeJay Adams to the leadership in many local political arenas and she was instrumental in the nomination and ultimate election of Senator Mary Lou Kent in and chaired her campaigns in both 1972 and 1976. While Co-Chairing the Nixon re-Election committee in Quincy in 1972, she was reunited with one of her former thespian contemporaries from her days at Bradley University - none other than former President Ronald Reagan and included their joint acting, his second, her first and only in a 1938 film "Sgt. Murphy" in which she was an extra and both living in California.

Always a spokesman for the Arts, she chaired the 1993 Arts/Quincy Riverfest. She was also an honorary Chairman of the Quincy University Fund Drive in 2001. In 2007, she was received a Lifetime Achievement notification in the Who's Who of American Women. In 2004, she received the John Quincy Adams Award from the City of Quincy for her lifelong contributions to the quality of life in the Quincy area. Upon her retirement in 2004, she was presented by then Mayor Chuck Scholz, a Key to the City and the declaration of BeeJay Adams Day in the City of Quincy.

She served, along with son Mark, as Secretary/Treasurer of Mississippi Belle Distributing and continued her long and distinguished life of community service.

Memorial Services will be held on May 16, 2007 at 4:00 p.m. at St. John's Anglican Church. Memorials in the name of BeeJay Adams are to be directed to St. John's Anglican Church or the Community Foundation of the Quincy Area. Hansen-Spear Funeral Home is coordinating services.