Carolyn Adams

I wrestled with posting this, as my Mom (Carolyn Reiko Adams) never needed the spotlight and never sought validation…but I gotta do it for me.

She passed this weekend and I continue to pinball between anger, grief and regret. She was a wonderful person: the best Mom/Mother-in-Law, a loving daughter, doting grandmother, loyal sibling, fierce wife and dedicated Teacher.

She held down the fort at nine years old while she and her family were interned at Tule Lake during the war; represented Cal and Ritter Hall on the Project PIC (Pakistan-India-Ceylon) Team while playing tennis and receiving her Teaching Credential; educated the youth of Berkeley (Washington, Hillside, Whittier, and Thousand Oaks) for close to 50 years (3rd Grade was her favorite); stood by my Dad through thick and thin; and unconditionally loved her family. Her moral compass never wavered, as she fought tirelessly to maintain basic teaching standards in the classroom, to assure the Japanese-American experience during WW2 is not forgotten, and to seek answers for the homeless and many other admirable causes. I will always be amazed at how easily she interwove kindness and resiliency.

I choose to believe she is now with my Dad, to whom she remained faithful for the past 25 years, since his passing.

I will live the rest of my life the way she lived hers: being kind to all, judging no one, and finding joy in the simpler things.