Forrest “Pudge” Eugene Adams, age 81, of Hugoton, Kansas, died, September 21, 2023, at Ascension Via Christi, St. Joseph Hospital in Wichita, Kansas. He was born November 15, 1941, in Lakin, Kansas, the son of Forrest and Elizabeth (McCandless) Adams.
Forrest graduated from Manter High School in 1959 lettering in all sports all four years of high school. After high school he attended Panhandle A&M College, where he played basketball on the intermural team. He was also a member of the National Science Foundation and Mathematics Institute allowing him to be a teaching assistant and tutor, and a member of Lambda Sigma Tau, a national honorary science and mathematics scholastic fraternity. He was also a member of the ROTC Precision Drill Team for 2 years. This was important to him because it was during the Vietnam War Era. Forrest was never drafted, receiving an exemption because he was going to be a teacher. He graduated from Panhandle A&M College in 1963 with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics.
Forrest married Romona Jean Thomas in Hugoton on August 10, 1963. They were married 54 and ½ years and had many good years together.
Forrest continued his education and graduated from Kansas State University in 1968 earning a master’s degree in education. Forrest had a love for teaching and coaching which led him to serve at Elkhart USD #218 for 34 years. During that time, he coached 8th grade and high school boys’ basketball teams and taught advanced high school math. He was presented with many awards such as the “Who’s Who Among American Teachers” in 1990 and “Master Teacher Award”. He was a member of the National Education Association and Kansas National Education Association, the Elkhart Education Association and Elkhart Jaycee’s. Forrest remembered the name of almost every student he ever taught. He was full of stories and his students meant a lot to him and each one helped him fulfill his passion for teaching.
Other than teaching, he spent most of his life farming with family. Farming was an important and huge part of his life. He loved to go sit and look out over his fields of corn, wheat or milo and watch the sun set. He could plant the straightest rows and took pride in it.
He was baptized at the First Baptist Church while attending college in 1961 and most recently attended Bethel Friends Church in Hugoton.
Developing a love of basketball beginning in high school, through college and coaching, he shared that love with his daughter. He loved to watch college basketball and would text back and forth with her during the KU basketball games. It was as if they were watching it together from a distance. Forrest was a loving father and grandfather who enjoyed his grandchildren to the fullest and attended as many of their activities as possible. Those kids were his everything.
Forrest is survived by his daughter, Jeanine and husband Alfonso (Kiki) Olivas of Coppell, Texas; two brothers, Fred Adams of Hays, Kansas, and Gary Adams and wife Betty of Manter, Kansas; three grandchildren, Ian Alexander Olivas, Addyson Isabella Olivas, and Isla Noelle Olivas all of Coppell, Texas.
Forrest is preceded in death by his parents, Forrest “Frosty” Adams and Elizabeth “Toots” Adams Allison; stepfather, A.C. Allison; and his wife, Romona in 2018.
Funeral service will be at 2:00 PM on Saturday, September 30, 2023, at Bethel Friends Church in Hugoton, Kansas, with Patty Bultman officiating. Interment will follow at the Hugoton Cemetery. Visitation will be Friday, September 29, 2023, from 2:00 PM until 8:00 PM at Garnand Funeral Home in Hugoton, Kansas. Memorial contributions may be given to Peace House Ministries or the American Cancer Society in care of Garnand Funeral Home, 920 E. 11th St. Hugoton, KS 67951. Condolences may be posted at www.garnandfuneralhomes.com.
