Obituary of James Ralph Adamson

James Ralph Adamson, 97, of New Plymouth, Idaho died at home on March 9th. He was grateful for the loving care given by his family and Ancora Hospice staff. A Celebration of Life will be held Friday, April 1, at 1:00 PM at Community of Christ Church, 325 Elm St., New Plymouth, Idaho. To honor Ralph's memory, memorials may be made to the charity of one's choice. Ralph was born in Iowa the third of eleven children. He was raised and worked on his family's farm in Motor, Iowa. He worked for other farmers in the area after he graduated from Pleasantville High School. In 1946 or 1947 he and his brother Don rode the train from Omaha, Nebraska to Nampa, Idaho where his sister Dorothy was attending college. Ralph started attending Northwest Nazarene College in Nampa where he met his lifetime sweetheart, Betty Jo Williamson. He attended two semesters of college and had four dates with Jo before returning to Iowa for a short time. From there he went to a mechanics school in Chicago, Illinois. Ralph and Jo sent many letters that winter. While he was still in Chicago, Ralph mailed Jo an engagement ring. In June 1948 they exchanged vows and were married in the Nazarene Church in Billings, Montana. They made their home in Nampa, Idaho where he worked at Terminal Ice and Cold Storage for 38 years while they raised six girls and helped raise some of their grandchildren. Somehow Ralph managed to stay sane through it all. He liked farming and gardening. He received help with weeding the radishes as one of his daughters followed behind pulling the "weeds" he missed. Ralph loved the outdoors and would load all his family into the car for Sunday drives and camping trips. He also liked to read and work on puzzle books. While living in Nampa Ralph and Jo attended church at Fairview Nazarene and later Bethel Nazarene. Ralph had a unique way of studying the Bible; he typed it out on a manual typewriter from beginning to end. In 2001 Ralph and Jo moved to New Plymouth, Idaho. They began attending the Nazarene church in Payette, Idaho. After Jo's passing in 2012 Ralph began attending Community of Christ church in New Plymouth. Ralph and Jo enjoyed the friendship, fellowship and food at the New Plymouth Senior Center where they both volunteered for several years until Jo's passing. Ralph told many entertaining stories of his pranks and childhood mischief. He also told of how his older brother Frank tried to kill him while they were growing up. He had a wonderful sense of humor which he maintained until the end. He said he wanted to be remembered as a "Crotchety Old Man" but he never lived up to that. Ralph was a loving, caring husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, brother and friend. He felt grateful and blessed by his family and friends. He was preceded in death by his wife, Betty Jo; his parents, Arthur and Edna Adamson; his brothers, Don, Jerry and Frank Adamson; his sisters, Margaret Adamson and Dorothy House; his children, three unnamed baby boys and one baby girl, Billie Jo Adamson; and one son-in-law, Dennis Rogers. He is survived by six daughters, Kay (Stu) Parvin, Marie (Bill) Cates, Carol (Larry) Lass, Darlene (Jim) Keebaugh, Stella (Stephen) Goll and Linda (Jim) Opdahl; two unofficially "adopted" daughters, Sally Jones and Janette Wolff; 19 grandchildren, Mike and John Parvin, Michelle (Todd) Rosenberger, Scott (Diana) Cates, Jeff Cates (Daesha White), Angie (Maggie) Cates, Sarah (Jeff) Harper, Delaina (Jeremy) Richmond, William Keebaugh, Alicia (Garry) Glass, Emily Robson (Shane Gargiulo), Heather Keebaugh, Kris Knaus, Stacy Goll, Andie Frosch, Kristen Hickman (John Ocker), Stan (August) Opdahl, Ryan (Katie) Opdahl and Kyle Opdahl (Lynsey Bumgarner); 16 great grandchildren, Jessie (Casey) Kleinkopf, William Rosenberger, Christopher and Shayla Cates, Ciera and Nicholas Cates, Isaac, Kael and Austin Richmond, Sam and Joe Knaus; Grace, Ryann and Titus Opdahl, Kallie and Scot Opdahl; three brothers, Bill, Glen & Wayne Adamson; two sisters, Ethel Patzer and Maxine Bennett; and his cat, Itty Bitty Kitty. Service Details. Service When: Friday, April 1st, 2022 1:00pm Location: Community of Christ Church Address: 325 Elm St. New Plymouth, Idaho 83655 Online Memory & Photo Sharing Event Ongoing Online Event About this event In Loving Memory Of James Ralph Adamson April 1, 1924 - March 9, 2022 Look inside to read what others have shared Family and friends are coming together online to create a special keepsake. Every memory left on the online obituary will be automatically included in this book. View Tribute Book