Ida Laverne Reese Adams

Ida LaVerne Reese Adams, 84, of Great Falls, died at home on Sunday, January 4, 2015 with her husband by her side. A celebration of life and committal will be held at the United Church of Christ in Fairfield later this spring when the flowers are blooming. Cremation has taken place under the care of OConnor Funeral Home. LaVerne was born outside of Milano, TX in her grandmothers house on August 24, 1930. She grew up in Odessa, TX with her mother, Ora May “Nino” McClellen, who was an original Bell Telephone switchboard operator; and her father, Luther Thomas Reese, who was Chief of Police of Odessa. Family recalls the stories of a courtship with Allen J. Adams at McMurray College in Abilene, TX and a wedding 64 years ago on Christmas Day 1950. LaVerne lived in parsonages that the churches furnished with leftover furniture in Sparenburg, Big Springs, Loraine, Shallowater, Snyder, and Vega, TX. While in Vega, she went to nursing school in Amarillo, TX and had her state license when the family moved to Big Sandy, MT in the late 1960s. She worked at the hospital in Big Sandy, Browning, later in Choteau, and then in the veterans hospital in Sheridan, WY. In her retirement years she volunteered with the Red Cross on blood drives. With her husband as United Methodist Church District Superintendant of Great Falls District, she traveled with Allen to the farthest places in Montana. As the wife of First United Methodist pastor in Great Falls, LaVerne was often the hostess and cook for gatherings of Administrative Board, choir, womens groups, and clergy retreats. After a time of retirement, LaVerne joined Allen in leading the Church of Christ in Fairfield and Power for 14 years. LaVerne was an artist and a romantic. She made quilts, painted china, and wrote poetry. She entered many of her creations in the Montana State Fair and has several ribbons and awards for her works. She also published a collection of her poetry. She surrounded herself, her family and friends with beauty and she will be greatly missed. She is survived by her husband, Allen J.; son Allen G. Adams of Virginia; daughter Holly Eve Adams of Great Falls; daughter-in-law Mary Laffey Adams; grandmother of Brian, Dan, Adrian, Kelly, Audrey, and Timothy; and great grandmother of Jackson and Jacob.