October 2,
1923—June 2, 2011
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Bishop W.D. Adams was the tenth child born to the late Allen and Addie Whitelow Adams in Brownsville, Tennessee on October 2, 1923. His wife, Floye Adams; daughter, Thomastine Adams; four brothers and three sisters all preceded him in death.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Bishop Adams’ childhood was spent in Brownsville, Tennessee. He moved to St. Louis, Missouri in 1943 where he united with First Freewill Baptist Church and was baptized by the late Reverend Edgar E. Warfield. He later met and was united in Holy Matrimony with Floye Newborn.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Bishop Adams was a humble man and he loved the word of God.
“mso-spacerun: yes;”> Christ and had a great appreciation for life and the people of God. He accepted the call on his life to enter into the ministry and was licensed and ordained a Minister in 1957 by
a member of First
Freewill Baptist Church. He soon became the Pastor at
Pilgrim Rest Freewill Baptist Church in February 1958 and was
reassigned to Pastor of First Freewill Baptist Church in
1975. Bishop Adams was
ordained as Bishop of the J.S. Manning Annual Conference in 1984,
serving in that capacity for 15 years and later became General
Bishop of the Western Division in 1988, serving for nine years.
Bishop Adams served as pastor of First Freewill Baptist Church for
thirty plus years; after which he remained as Pastor Emeritus until
his transition from “labor to reward”.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>He leaves two daughters (Rev. Sonja McClendon and Joyce M. Adams-Wise), seven grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren, one brother, two sisters and a host of other relatives and numerable friends to cherish his legacy and the memories of a life well spent and a race well run.
