AUGUSTA – On Saturday, May 28, 2022, Elsie Jean (Tibbetts) Adams, 93, of Palermo, was taken to be with the Lord, receiving greetings from loved ones who predeceased her. Elsie, the second of seven Tibbetts girls, was born in Windsor, on July 15, 1928, to parents John and Harriet (Greeley) Tibbetts. She grew up helping her sisters, then went on to meet the love of her life, Earl Stanton Adams, during a Walker high school field trip. Elsie began attending Farmington State Teachers College, where Earl soon enrolled, in an attempt to capture Elsie’s heart. The pair wed in 1947, began a family in Rutland, Vt., and soon moved back to Maine. With Earl’s support, Elsie resumed classes, attending summer school and night classes so she could take care of her family during the daytime, finally matriculating at University of Maine, Orono, class of ’69. Elsie and Earl were married for 59 years and raised three children. Teaching at Walker High School for six years, Elsie taught for an additional 31 years in the China school system before finally retiring in 1985. She loved teaching and was an avid reader, sightseer, card player, camper, snowmobiler, enjoyed crocheting and knitting, and later in life, enjoyed her winters in Florida with Earl. Her firm belief in family fed a passion for genealogy and she would discuss her ancestral roots and interests in genealogy with anyone who would listen. The annual Tibbetts family reunions were always a highlight for Elsie, as was her involvement with annual Fish and Game yard sales she hosted at her home on Route Three in Palermo. Elsie was also known to bake delicious sweets, as well as canning vegetables and pickles from the garden she and Earl planted and tended each season. Old fashioned donuts, apple pie and mincemeat pie were just a few popular items Elsie often made to share with friends, family, and strangers alike. Elsie and Earl playfully teased one another, providing hours of amusement to their grandchildren and anyone else who needed a smile. “For heaven’s sakes, Earl” was perhaps one of her best-known lines in response to his “for heaven’s sakes, Elsie.” Like her sisters, Elsie was strong and independent, always there when needed. She leaves behind her three children: Ronald Adams and his wife Patricia Mathis of Houston, TX; Caroline Holden and husband Hank of Palermo, ME; and John (Jack) Elwin Adams of Fairfield, ME.; a sister, Marcia Taber of Syracuse, NY; grandchildren Kristyn Mathis of Houston, TX; Randall Adams and wife Amy of Middleburg, VA; Carolyn Johnson and husband Jason of Fort Collins, CO; Christine Caswell and husband Moises Nuñez of Portland, ME; George Caswell. Jr. and wife Laura Johnston of Sudbury, MA; Jennifer Adams and husband Robert Harville of Scarborough, ME; Seth Adams of Southern Maine; great grandchildren Michael, Meaghan, Daniel, and Ethan Adams, Henry and Cecylia Schattle; Violet, Melody, and Benjamin Caswell; Hazel Harville; and several nieces, and nephews. She was predeceased by her husband Earl (2007); her sisters Frances Lenfest, Beryl Glidden, Carolyn Ballantyne, Betty Glidden, Sylvia Tibbetts, and a daughter-in-law, Eva (Gilblair) Adams. She was a member of the Kennebec and Waldo Retired Teachers Associations, Maine Education Association, National Education Association, Palermo Historical Society, Palermo Fish and Game, and the Maine Old Cemetery Association. The family would like to thank the comfort care unit staff of Maine General for their empathy, respect, and care during her stay, as well as the Augusta Maine Veterans Home, and all the friends and extended relatives that have reached out with love and support. Funeral services will be held at the Palermo Christian Church on Sunday, June 5, 2022, at 2 p.m., followed by a reception at the Church.In lieu of flowers and gifts, the family requests donations be made to the Palermo Christian Church Youth Program.

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