Charles Bennett Adams Jr.

Charles Bennett Adams, Jr., lifelong resident of Trappe, MD, passed away on Tuesday, September 13, 2022. He was born on May 25, 1932, and resided in Trappe except for his time as a student at the University of Maryland, College Park and his service as a member of the military forces. He was active in his church and community throughout his life and was proud of his Trappe birthplace and Talbot County heritage. He was an active member of the Boy Scouts as a youth and began working in his family’s business, Defender Packing Company, at an early age. He became a member of the Trappe Volunteer Fire Company as a teenager (1948) and had the honor of becoming a Life Member in 1982. He served as the President of the Trappe Volunteer Fire Company in 1966. He graduated from Easton High School in 1949 and began his undergraduate studies at the University of Maryland, College Park in the fall of 1949. He graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1953. He was an inductee of the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society which was one of his cherished accomplishments. He returned to the family business upon his graduation and in November, 1954, he enlisted in the United States Army and spent the first part of his service in Georgia. He was assigned to Frankfurt, Germany, in the spring of 1956. Prior to his transfer to Frankfurt, he married Wilma B. Diamond of Easton on April 7, 1956. They enjoyed their time living in Frankfurt and spent their leisure time traveling through Belgium, England, France, the Netherlands, as well as Germany. They returned to the States in November of 1957 and began to build their home and family in Trappe. He returned to working within Defender Packing Company which included growing and canning tomatoes. His interest in serving his community included two unsuccessful but competitive races for the House of Delegates in the early 1960’s and he continued to stay active in his love of the community by serving as an elected member of the Trappe Town Council from June 1985 through April 1993. He raised his daughter and two sons with his wife, Wilma, and he was active in the PTA at Trappe Elementary and White Marsh Elementary, and other community, social organizations such as the Trappe Little League and Football League. He became a blood donor via his local blood bank (now Blood Bank of Delmarva). He donated regularly through July 2012. His deep faith began as a boy with his family’s attendance at the Trappe Methodist Church (later the Trappe United Methodist Church) where he served as the Superintendent of the Sunday School, Lay Leader and Sunday School Teacher. In his later years of life, he also served as the Church’s Historian. After retiring from the canning business, he continued to promote canning in the Delmarva region by speaking and demonstrating his vast life experience in the family canning business. He was interviewed by many local and state news outlets over the years about canning and enjoyed giving demonstrations of putting a lid on a can by hand. During this time, he also worked as a Real Estate Agent and continued staying active in his community. His final passion was leading the charge to establish the Trappe Rural Life Museum which had been a dream that he shared with his father. In 2006, local town members began meeting to establish the Museum, and it became an official charity on September 11, 2006. His love of Trappe and his family’s heritage sustained his desire to expand the museum, and he enjoyed working with many volunteers over the last 15 years to celebrate Trappe’s history and culture. He was proceeded in death by his parents, Charles B. Adams & Martha O. Adams (née Ornett); his wife, Wilma D Adams (née Diamond) of 39 years; and his sister, Hilda Jane Brooks (née Adams). He is survived by his wife, Mary Rae Adams (née Harrison), his three children, Dorinda, Charles, and Terence; his grandchildren, Kelly Walker (née Adams), Charles Adams, and Ethan Adams; and his two great-grandchildren, Brianna Donohue and Lucas Walker. His funeral service will be held on Thursday, September 22, 2022, at 11 AM at Trappe United Methodist Church. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, please feel free to make a donation in his memory to the Trappe United Methodist Church, (http://www.tfcumc.org/), the Trappe Volunteer Fire Company (Trappe Fire Department), 4001 Powell Ave., P.O. Box 86, Trappe, MD 21673 (410- 476-3535), or the Trappe Rural Life Museum (https://rurallifemuseum.org/).

Charles Bennett Adams Jr.

May 25, 1932 - September 13, 2022