Robert B Adams

Robert Bruce Adams, son of the late Ernest Howard Adams and Ethel Elizabeth Gover Adams, was born October 7, 1937, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He affectionately was known as Bobby or Bob. He was the sixth of seven children, three daughters and four sons, and the last of them to pass on. Three of the sons, Ernest, Jr., Donald, and Charles died as infants or children. As a child, Bobby was raised in the city’s Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church and was a lifelong member and served as a trustee for many years. He was educated in the New Brunswick public school system, graduating high school in the 1956 class of Zebras (high school mascot). He successfully completed his task on Earth on February 9, 2025. 

Bobby married the love of his life, Barbara Lois Thomas, on July 11, 1959. Their union was blessed with three children, sons Bruce Anthony and Gregory Mark and daughter Robin Michelle. Bobby and Barbara were married 54 years until her passing in 2013.

Bobby was employed at New Brunswick Scientific, then Middlesex General Hospital (now Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital), and Union Carbide Corporation, a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company, where he was a maintenance supervisor. After retirement, he drove a school bus for the Piscataway Township school district for a short period.

Bobby loved watching sports of any kind on TV, and he loved to cook and bake. His hobbies included sending out personalized cards created by one of his church members to friends and family for the holidays, birthdays, and celebrations. Bobby and his wife Barbara loved to travel, especially to their favorite places like Jamaica and Hawaii, and on cruises to Bermuda. Bobby was a member of the Dukes Social Club, and the men and their wives loved to socialize with one another and at larger events, and a good time was guaranteed for all. One of Bobby’s favorite things to do was taking the “Eden Avenue grandkids” from the neighborhood “down the shore” to Wildwood, New Jersey. 

Bobby was predeceased by his parents, his adult sisters Gwendolyn, Dolores, and Marion, his wife, and son Gregory, and his father-in-love, Charles Thomas, mother-in-love, Charlotte Thomas, and sister-in-love, Charlotte Gail Thomas McNorton.

As the patriarch of the Adams family, Bobby lead by example with Christian values, a compassionate heart, and an altruistic demeanor. His main passions were his family, to whom he was devoted and dutiful, and being a servant for his church. He always put others before himself, and if he could help in any way, he would. Bobby was never petty, mean, or dubious in conduct and character. His family respected and admired him and considered him a prince among men. His memory and legacy will forever be cherished.

Bobby is survived by his son Bruce (Sheila) and daughter Robin, grandchildren Nicole, Lashaw, Jamaal (Elizabeth), and Brian, and great-grandchildren Jamaal, Jr. and Justin, sister-in-love June Eads (Frank), and a host of nieces, nephews, relatives, friends, his beloved “Eden Avenue grandkids,” and his dog Rose.