Kelly Lee Tanner Adams

Kelly Lee Tanner Adams was born April 19, 1959 in Lubbock, TX to William Arnold and Betty Lou Lancaster Tanner and passed from this life on August 15, 2023 surrounded by her family in Lancaster. Until marriage, Kelly resided in Lubbock, Texas. She graduated from Coronado High School in 1977. Her biggest passion at this time was twirling. She then went to Texas Tech University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in merchandising in 1981. She went on her first date with her future husband on her 21st birthday. They dated for 2 years and married on July 31st 1982 at Redbud Baptist Church in Lubbock. After a honeymoon trip to Lake City, Colorado, the newlyweds moved to Abilene, TX and shortly thereafter bought some property in Eula. They have often described this time as one of the best in their lives while planting gardens, building barns, and keeping animals. On October 30, 1984, they welcomed their first-born, Seth Davis Adams. He was scheduled to be induced on the 31st, but Kelly couldn’t stand the thought of a Halloween baby. About 1:00am on the 30th, Kelly woke David up saying it was time. David had just gotten to bed after dispatching a skunk that was keeping Kelly awake. After a long slow trip on rough country roads and a sprint on Hwy 36, they arrived at Hendrick Hospital where Kelly quit having pains and was told to go home. Kelly, in her sweet voice, convinced the staff to go ahead and induce on the 30th. The next day, she tried to borrow a pillow case so she and Seth could Trick or Treat the hospital. It is still not known today if she staged the whole event or not. In 1986, they moved into a brand-new house in Lancaster, TX that she lived in for the rest of her life. In July 1988, they welcomed their daughter, Amber Dawn Adams. After a full day of shopping with her mom (who was here for the birth), Kelly stopped by the house on her way to another mall (Town East) where she was looking for another pair of shoes for Seth. While at home, she told me she was uncomfortable and asked if she was in labor. In my soft gentle way, I ask her how she thought I would know. Long story short, I talked her out of going to Town East, and Amber was born an hour or so later. With both births, Kelly had absolutely no pain medication or blocks proving her high pain tolerance which served her well later on. After her children were born, they were the center of her world, and she spent her years going from activity to activity. She believed her kids should experience everything and spent many days at the scorchingly hot ballfields. One Saturday while David was working out of town, she loaded up the suburban with food and uniforms and proceeded in shuttling the kids to 17 different soccer, baseball, and softball games in both Grand Prairie and Mesquite without ever seeing one play on the field. She called me that night and said she had to fill up 3 times. She was very dedicated and rarely missed any summer, middle school, high school, or college games the kids played in. Not only was she dedicated to her kids but she worked full time in the banking industry until she passed away. She got her start in banking in Lubbock and worked for many years as a trust officer. Most of her career was spent at JP Morgan Chase, and she made many lifelong friends through her work. In 2005, Kelly found a lump in her clavicle region, and after a scan, she shortly thereafter was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She had major surgery followed by many rounds of chemotherapy and radiation. During this time, she fought hard so that she would have more time with her family. She never let the kids know the severity of the cancer she had. She kept very high spirits throughout her treatment and persevered through the difficult time. When initially diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2005, Kelly asked the doctors if she would see Amber get married. They asked her how old Amber was. When she told them Amber was a junior in high school, they told her she wouldn’t see her graduate. She felt very lucky and blessed to have survived ovarian cancer, see her kids graduate from college, get married, and meet her grandchildren. Unfortunately, in 2020 she started having pain in her back. Later that year she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and again, gave it her all to fight for more time with her young grandchildren. As unfortunate as it was to get two life threatening cancer diagnoses, she always held fast to the blessing that the extra 20 years had provided her. Kelly loved her grandkids. She was called “puppet” because she would do anything for the grands. They just had to “pull her string.” Even though the kids were young, she spent so much valuable time with them. Her favorite thing in the world was rocking them and letting them sleep on her shoulder. During covid, the grands were out of school and she was able to spend weeks on end with them at the lake. This was right before her diagnosis, and she considered this one of her greatest gifts later in her life. Kelly has been described by many as sweet, kind, selfless, and loyal. She was a mama bear and protector of her kids. She supported her family throughout all of their ups and downs in life. She worked tirelessly full time throughout her life while also managing a busy home life filled with countless ball games, dirty baseball pants, and so many mealtimes to plan. She wore many different hats, but in every aspect of her life, she brought beauty and light into this world and left a positive mark on everyone she encountered. She was preceded in death by her parents, William and Betty as well as her father-in-law, Welton Adams. Kelly is survived by her beloved husband, David Adams; her daughter, Amber Adams Buehler and husband, Brian with their children, Breelyn and Bristol Buehler; her son, Seth Adams and wife, Jennifer with their children Crew and Carley Adams, & Conner, Cooper, and Carter Hoelzle; her sister, Julie Tanner of Lubbock; and her mother-in-law, Sheri Winstead Adams. A celebration of Kelly’s life will be at 11:00am on Saturday, September 9, 2023 at First Baptist Church of Lancaster with visitation beginning at 10:00am. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made in Kelly’s name to the American Cancer Society or the charity of your choice.

Tributes

Kelly Lee Tanner Adams

April 19, 1959 - August 15, 2023