Pamela (Roe) Adams was born December 9, 1938 in London, England to Nancy Mary Luckett and Sgt. Major Arthur Roe. She, along with her older sister Audre and her mother survived the German Blitzkrieg bombardment of London during World War II. After her father was killed in action, her mother fell in love with a dashing American soldier, Harold W. McKenna, who would later become Pam’s stepfather.  In April of 1949, Pam, Audre and Mary sailed from South Hampton on the S.S. Washington across the Atlantic, arriving in New York a week later.  On the way across the ocean, she made friends of the crew, who all adopted the ”funny little British girl” and introduced her to the delights of ice cream.  The sight of Lady Liberty in the New York harbor left her in awe, as did the week-long train ride across the enormous American continent to eventually settle in East Los Angeles after her mum had married Harold.  East Los Angeles was “the melting pot of California and was worlds away from anything we were familiar with…they told us they spoke English in America!”  After a difficult year, the family moved to Hermosa Beach where “at least we could understand people again!”

This new community proved to be instrumental in Pam’s life, as she was introduced to live theater, and had many teachers in her school who were also dancers, actors and stand-up comedians. After winning an essay contest on “What America Means To Me”, she was asked to present her essay before an audience which, unknown to her at the time, included several talent scouts.  She was recruited surreptitiously to become a contract performer with the Warner Brothers Studios at the age of 15, and began somewhat of a double life, as she asked the principal of the high school not to tell anyone she was working for the studios.  She would go to school most days, then go to work at Warner Brothers, (where she would be filmed as part of a screaming mob in the classic horror film The Blob!).  Her studio life also included acting classes where she met various up-and-coming stars. She became friends with James Dean, who appreciated that she was not at all interested in romance—he could just be himself around her, and they would often take off on his motorcycle so they could “just talk”.  Working with so many experienced performers who’d been in vaudeville, radio, television and movies, as well as live theater was a rich learning environment for the young actress.

After graduating from Mira Cosa High School in 1956, she and her best friend Melora decided to leave the Hollywood scene behind and chase their dreams of Broadway in New York, living in Little Italy and Greenwich Village. Melora packed it in after only four months, but Pam stayed, as she had met her first real love, a new artist and painter Richard Schmid (who would go on to become one of the most respected American artists of the 20th century). He introduced her to the likes of Jackson Pollack and Norman Rockwell. During this time, Pam managed to get a starring role in an off-Broadway production of Picnic. She’d become a bit cynical at this point due to people promising big things yet never delivering, so when a man visited her after a performance, and told her she was very impressive and would she please come and audition for this new musical he was writing, she politely said no thank you and tossed his business card in the trash.  The man was Meredith Wilson and the “new musical” was The Music Man!!  Things were not working out between her and Richard, so in 1960 she became part of a touring theatrical group heading back West.  When the tour went bankrupt, she found herself stranded in Flint, Michigan. (“Ah, the glamour of show business!” she said) She was rescued by her stepbrother Hal and wound up in Portland, Oregon, living with him and his four other pilot buddies, who all adopted her as their little sister. Wanting to get back to what she knew best, she auditioned for the Portland Civic Theatre, and was immediately cast as the lead in The Sleeping Prince. And this is where her path crossed with a tall, dark handsome young man who was the Costume Designer for the civic.  Their initial meeting was hardly a promising one—he was slightly rude to her, and her response was appropriately frosty.  But later he would admit to others that she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, and one thing led to another, so that on February 19, 1961, Pam became Mrs. Don Adams, married by a Justice of the Peace in a small ceremony at a friend’s apartment.  Their off-stage and on-stage success continued until Pam discovered she was pregnant with their first child. Wendy Elizabeth Adams arrived in July of 1963, followed by a move to Seattle for Don to become the first official costumer for the Seattle Repertory Theater company. He was quickly hired on at Western Washington State College to join the theater department in Bellingham, WA, and soon after, Pam produced their second baby, Michael McKenna Adams in November 1964.  In 1968, she achieved a long-held goal of becoming a naturalized citizen of the United States.

At this point, Pam happily settled into family life, raising the children, assisting Don as an acting coach when he occasionally directed various college productions, and she also became very involved with St. Paul’s Episcopal Church as a member of the choir, and inspiring several events (including teaching the ladies how to make a genuine British plum pudding, which they produced for several years as a fundraiser).  When Don took a position at Washington State University in Pullman, WA, from 1977-1983, once again Pam rolled up her sleeves and became thoroughly involved in the parish life of St. James Episcopal Church, singing in the choir, being church secretary, organizing Twelfth Night Epiphany parties, and huge Arts-and-Craft fairs.

1984 saw another move, this time to Springfield, Missouri, until in 1992, she and Don settled in Price, Utah, as he’d accepted a position at CEU. And there in Price they both stayed til the end of their days, Don preceding her in death in 2013.  During her 30 years in Price, Pam was deeply involved in her home congregation at Ascension St. Matthew’s Church. She and Don both were instrumental in the fund-raising and the design of the current church building on Homestead Boulevard. She was well-known for her needlework, her sharp mind in developing such church events as Fall Fare, the annual Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper, and the Lenten Soup Suppers.

As her health declined, she became well known and loved by the staff at Pinnacle Nursing Home and at the Heirloom Inn. She loved to tell her stories, and was always concerned for the welfare of those who attended to her needs.  She was full of ideas and projects, and tuned in via phone call to her Sunday church worship services when she was no longer able to attend in person.  Many often turned to her for advice and encouragement.

She passed into the arms of her Lord suddenly, quietly and quickly on the afternoon of Sunday, September 15, 2024, most likely due to a cardiac event.  She leaves behind her children Wendy and Michael, her four grandchildren Stephanie, Warren, Hannah and Erin, her elder sister Audre Graham, two great-nieces Cathy Navarez and Linda Williams-Joyce, and countless friends whose lives she touched with her humor, her wisdom, her life experience and her love.

Memorial service, Saturday, October 5, 2024, 2:00 p.m., Ascension St. Matthew’s Church in Price. Arrangements entrusted to Mitchell Funeral Home of Price and Huntington where friends are always welcome daily and may share memories of Pam online at www.mitchellfuneralhome.net

In lieu of flowers please send contributions to the memorial fund at Ascension St. Matthew’s Church, 522 Homestead Blvd., Price, Utah 84501.