Page 2 - Florida Sentinel 9-16-22

Businessman, Radio Host Eddie Adams Dies Suddenly
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
A well-known Tampa radio host, electoral candi- date, and businessman died suddenly Thursday in his yard while attending to his garden. Adams had not complained of any illness prior to his death. He was 68-years-old.
Adams was the Presi- dent of the Grand Krewe de Libertalia (the first inte- grated Gasparilla Crew, that allowed female "full- members." He was also President of the Temple Terrace Area Republican Club. Adams competed in several elections, the last being in 2016.
He was the son of Eddie and Rosa Lee Adams, Sr. He was mar- ried to Mrs. Sylvia Adams for 35 years and they are the parents of a son, Joseph, and daugh- ter, Ashley. He was a member of the First Insti- tutional Baptist Church.
The oldest of five chil- dren, Adams was born and attended school in Lake Wales, Florida. He was a member of the Boy Scouts of America, and at the age
of 12, he made the rank of Life Scout and was a mem- ber of the Order of the Arrow.
In high school, Adams earned 2 letters in track and field, 3 letters in foot- ball, and 3in band. He was one of only two players on the Lake Wales High School football team to make All-Conference his senior year.
Adams entered the University of South Florida in 1971, and graduated as the first African American to receive a degree in Mi- crobiology. While at USF Adams was a member of the Afro-American Gospel Choir, president of the Black Pan-Hellenic Coun- cil, president of Theta Gamma Chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and president of the Black Student Union.
He worked as a labora- tory assistant for USF and for the Hillsborough County Health Depart- ment.
In 1977, Adams was hired at Tampa General Hospital (TGH) as a Car- dio-Pulmonary Laboratory Technologist. While at Tampa General Hospital,
EDDIE ADAMS October 13, 1953 --- September 8, 2022
Adams was one of the founding members of the Ad Hoc Employees’ Civil Service Committee, which evolved into the Employee Advisory Committee. He was also the co-founder and organizer of the Black History Week Celebration at TGH, which later evolved into Multicultural Week. He retired in 1996.
In 1995, Adams gradu- ated from the FAMU/USF Cooperative School of Ar- chitecture and Design with a Masters of Architecture Degree.
From 1996 until 2002, Adams worked for the ar-
chitectural firm of Rosier/Jones Associates, Inc. Architects and Plan- ners in downtown St. Pe- tersburg. He worked with The Rosier Alliance Inc. Tampa office and started his own business Adams & Associates Residential De- sign.
Among the many activi- ties he was involved in, Adams enjoyed playing golf, painting, and SCUBA diving. He was a loyal member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., a loyal member of the Satur- day Morning Breakfast Group and served a Vice Chair of the Tampa General Hospital Authority Board.
In a farewell message to
Adams, James Ransom
said, “My fellow brothers, the Saturday Morning Breakfast Group lost a dear friend and brother, Eddie Adams, Jr. As you know, he stood alone in his politi- cal convictions while being unapologetic about sup- porting all things to better the lives of Black people. He was a founding member of the Saturday Morning Breakfast Group whose mission, in part, is to be positive role models of ex- emplary leadership for Black boys and young men to emulate... He was an ar- chitect and a politician. He
often said that politics is a blood sport, but he found joy in boldly standing firm on his political perspective and views.
“Eddie was a warrior who also ran for Congress and won symbolically for the causes that he believed in most. He was also a radio talk show host who claimed to have the number one non-Nielsen rated program “Porch Talk Radio” on WTMP 1150 AM. Eddie Adams was and will al- ways be remembered as a loyal brother and member of our SMBG family who as he often said, “served on 38 boards and chaired 16.” He was simply one of a kind and will be sorely missed.
“One quote that would be appropriate and fitting for us to say about Eddie is, ‘We can’t choose our family members as we go along life’s way. When it comes to who is in our fam- ily tree, we just don’t have any say. But if the time ever came along and it were pos- sible to do, when I was picking out a brother, there’s no doubt that I’d choose you,’” Ransom said.
Aikens Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangement, planned for Sept. 23rd and 24th.
Feature
PAGE 2-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2022