The 11th Armored Cavalry Veterans of Vietnam and Cambodia

Thomas Taylor Adams, Jr., 77, died March 12, 2021.

Born to Thomas and Virginia (Dayton) Adams, Tom grew up in Michigan where he was a noted athlete and ardent student of Economics attending Leelanau School and Ripon College.

Thomas was a US Army Veteran proudly serving as a 1st Lieutenant in the 919th Engineering Company, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (the Legendary Blackhorse Regiment) in the Vietnam War. He was a recipient of the Bronze Star Medal.

Tom was also a small businessman who held his team in close regard.

Tom was a philatelist, cruciverbalist and bibliophile who appreciated espionage fiction, sea epics and civil war novels. He was a fervent fan of the Michigan Wolverines and Detroit Redwings, Tigers and Lions. His fondest times were in the woods at Lake Dunmore with family, friends and his puppy dogs. He played chess, cribbage, and forty-five, waxed poetic over cold Becks, reveled in “March Madness”, and loved singing along with the likes of Bowie, Frank Black, the Talking Heads and the Beatles (a playlist might be more appropriate than an obit). He was most at ease farming rock walls, eradicating hemlock from Satans Kingdom, “walking the hill” at the Falls of Lana and crafting his woodpile. In juxtaposition to his partiality for the simple life, he was epically unhandy, at odds with moderation, and by turns larger than life. His boisterous laugh will echo on.

Tom is survived by his son, Bernard Reilly Adams and daughter-in-law Dawn Schwaiger Adams of Rutland, VT; his daughter, Elizabeth Doyle Adams of Rutland, VT; their mother, former wife Patricia Reilly Cupoli (Lawrence) of Rutland, VT; his 2 beloved granddaughters, who “Papa” was so proud of, Shannon Eileen Adams and Ashleah Meadow Adams; and his remaining family and close friends.

Since his longtime desire for “sky burial” is as yet impermissible, he will be interred at a later date in a private ceremony with honors at the Vermont Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Randolph.

Memorial contributions can be made to the Rutland County Humane Society in Pittsford, VT.

Rest in peace Tom.