Martha Jane Beggs Adams, 86, of Chaffee, Missouri died Monday, October 13, 2014. She was born August 18, 1928, in Chaffee, Missouri, the daughter of Beulah Williams Beggs and Julius Francis Beggs. Her mother died a few days later and her grandparents, Lillie Dale White Williams and Myrtle Frank Williams, raised her. She was raised with her uncles Tom Williams and Lawrence Williams. She married Richard O'Neal Adams on August 27, 1948 in Chaffee where they have resided most of their lives. They celebrated their 66th wedding anniversary on August 27, 2014. She attended Southeast Missouri State College where she attained a Bachelor's degree in teaching and a Master's degree in Counseling. She taught grades 1-‐8 at Campster School in Cape Girardeau, 6th grade at Alma Schrader Elementary School in Cape Girardeau and 4th grade at Chaffee Elementary School in Chaffee where she greatly influenced the lives of numerous students. Martha Jane firmly believed that every child was capable of learning and worked to teach each of them how to reach their full potential. She was a member of the First Baptist Church in Chaffee, but in recent years also attended the First Christian Church in Chaffee and First Baptist Church in Cape Girardeau. She was a member of the Chapter LY P.E.O. in Cape Girardeau; the Nancy Hunter Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution in Cape Girardeau; the Missouri Retired Teachers Association; Ladies Auxiliary VFW; and the Alumni association of Southeast Missouri State University. She was an avid Cardinal Baseball fan. She is survived by her husband, Richard O'Neal Adams; her daughter and her husband of Cape Girardeau, Carol O'Neil Adams Robinson and Ronald Lewis Robinson, M.D.; her granddaughter and her husband of Collierville, Tennessee, Carol René Robinson and David Christopher Sallee, M.D.; her great granddaughters, Maria Robinson Sallee and Elena Robinson Sallee; and her second cousin and her son of Saint Louis, Missouri, Janis Ann Williams and Curtis Lawrence Williams. She was preceded in death by her parents and the grandparents that raised her; her uncles with whom she was raised; her cousin who was like a brother to her and his wife, Lawrence Franklin Williams and Dorothy Josephine Everding Williams; and her cousin who was like a sister to her, Sharon Rose Williams Harrell. Visitation will be from 5 until 8 p.m. Thursday evening at the Amick-‐Burnett Funeral Chapel in Chaffee, Missouri. Funeral services will be at 1 pm on Friday with the Rev. Michael Shupert officiating. Pallbearers will be Larry Dunger, Rusty Golightly, Matthew Porter, John Robinson, Kent Wells, and John Wessel. Burial will be in the Union Park Cemetery in Chaffee. Memorials may be sent to the Missouri Baptist Children's Home, 11300 Saint Charles Rock Road, Bridgeton, MO 63044.
