JOAN CHARLOTTE ADAMS (SMERCHANSKI)

Adjust Text Size: A+ A-

JOAN CHARLOTTE ADAMS
(nee SMERCHANSKI)

Joan Charlotte Adams passed away peacefully at home in Livermore, CA, April 4, 2022, with her husband Tom Adams and her caregiver Gina by her side.
Joan was born in Winnipeg on April 1, 1945, to Mark and Pat Smerchanski, and was the eldest of three girls. From an early age, she excelled academically - graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree (with first class honours) in Actuarial Math and Mathematics from the University of Manitoba in 1967. This was a time when there were only 2,000 actuaries in the entire U.S. and Joan was the lone woman in her class of just nine students. She was a trail blazer for future generations of women. She continued to forge new paths - taking her Master's degree in the then new field of computer science from the University of Wisconsin, Madison where she met her life partner, Tom. They married in 1970 in Boulder, Colorado, and subsequently, Joan wrote software for a Mars probe and a solar telescope. While living in Chicago, Joan welcomed twin sons. The family enjoyed life in Hawaii for a year, and finally settled in White Rock, New Mexico in 1977.
Her sons were Joan's primary focus and she enthusiastically embraced being their mom. Picnics, swimming lessons, volunteering at their schools, coaching soccer, and being a Boy Scout den mother kept her busy. She helped coach her sons' Odyssey of the Mind team which made it to the World Finals. She arranged music lessons, summer music camps, excursions to the Santa Fe Opera, and trips to Broadway shows in Denver and New York for her sons. Joan supported and encouraged them in all their endeavours.
Joan taught Sunday school at the Unitarian Church in Los Alamos, and was a frequent volunteer at church activities. She co-sponsored a family of Vietnamese refugees and continued to help them for the rest of her life. For years, Joan helped two young artists from Sarov, Russia, which was the sister city of Los Alamos. These artists produced hand-painted lacquer boxes and brooches, which Joan sold for them at craft fairs. Joan loved cooking and was well known for her delicious English Christmas puddings. An avid environmentalist, she recycled as much as possible and tried to avoid harmful chemicals.
Joan especially enjoyed her group of women friends, her book club adventures, and holiday potluck dinners she shared with close friends. They too will miss her.
In 1998, Joan and Tom moved to California. A fighter, Joan dealt courageously with numerous medical challenges, including many years of chronic pain.
She is survived by her husband Tom, sons, Jonathan and Sam, and sisters, Trish and Rhonda Smerchanski. The family thank Gina Vogt for her years of friendship and loving care of Joan.
A memorial will be held May 20, 2022, at 11:00 a.m. at the Mt. Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church, 55 Eckley Lane, Walnut Creek, CA. More memories of Joan can be found on-line at https://www.lastimememories.com/joan-charlotte-adams/

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Apr 30, 2022