1948
Billie-Jo
2021
Billie-Jo Adams
February 1, 1948 — March 8, 2021
Billie-Jo (Litchfield) Adams, age 73, passed away suddenly on Monday, March 8, 2021 at her home in Franklin, Massachusetts. Born in Wells, Maine on February 1, 1948, she was the loving and beloved daughter of the late Loraine Gertrude (Litchfield) Sandler and the late Max Sandler, her adoring and protective stepfather. Raised in Woburn, she attended Woburn High School, graduating with the Class of 1965. Billie-Jo graduated from Bryant and Stratton Secretarial School in 1967, then taking a position with and rising to executive assistant to a senior partner at the well-regarded Boston law firm of Choate, Hall & Stewart, until marrying and settling down.
Billie-Jo made her home in Quincy, where she took on her chosen role as homemaker and mother, raising and caring for her young family. They later moved to Norwood in 1983, eventually settling on Peach Street in Walpole in 1986. As Billie-Jo's three boys grew up, she returned to the work force, serving for a time as executive assistant to the vice-president with the Boston College Alumni Association. More recently, Billie-Jo worked at Windstar Technologies in Norwood from 1995 until retiring in 2008, and settling into her new home in Franklin.
Throughout her life, Billie loved spending time in Maine, often taking her little boys in summer to visit their grandparents at her family's home in the small coastal town of Moody Beach, where they enjoyed the local vacation communities and beaches. She appreciated and enjoyed the opportunities of traveling to other destinations, as well, including memorable trips to Europe and Ireland. When at home during retirement, Billie-Jo was always most at ease while spending time with her precious animals: dogs, Casey, Abby, and Sasha (a notorious and enthusiastic Tom Brady fan when viewed on TV for some reason), and her dear cat, Snickers.
Billie was a woman of many talents and passions. She valued the quiet times, creating arts-and-crafts for family and friends with her knitting needles and sewing machine. She was especially praised for her many favored meals, taking pride in the big family dinners she looked forward to preparing that were usually centered around her famous pasta sauce. She demonstrated many skills in the arts of cooking and baking, collecting and trading recipes and bookmarking recipe websites. Her sons remember how, as then-little boys, they often baked cookies, cupcakes and multi-colored birthday cakes together with their mom, too, which involved favorite cake-decorating themes like Batman and Spiderman. These special memories have obviously influenced their love for cooking and baking today, as they continue on creating some of their mother’s special delicacies. Billie’s relatives have said that her several “legendary” homemade desserts, like her delicious pistachio cake and minced-meat pie, were regularly requested for up-coming holiday dinners; which were quickly consumed, and occasionally involved mild, good-natured family combat to secure a portion.
Most of all, Billie-Jo loved spending time while surrounded by her family. As an “only child,” there was no greater gift for her in this life. That’s why, she once told a brother-in-law, she so loved big families, their large holiday gatherings and a din of joyful noise. To her it all meant family. As a young mother, her world revolved around her three sons, and she was always present at all their many life events, from sports to school, well into their college years. She was known, too, as a fierce protector of her children, a super-mom, when it mattered most. And, like all grandmothers, she was beyond delighted at the birth of each and every blessed grandchild, treasuring each minute she got to spend with them.
Her several brothers-in-law and some of the small circle of close women-friends remember her intellect, her creativity, her work ethic, her outgoing, thoughtful, friendly nature. They remember, too, her easy-going sense of humor, quick wit, an appreciation for sarcasm, an always-welcoming, ready smile; the spontaneous and infectious laugh, which was ever present whenever she recalled some particularly memorable moment from her boys’ youth.
Billie-Jo had many other qualities, as well: She was strong-willed, intellectually curious, intensely interested in national and world events, politically aware, and no shrinking violet when expressing her opinion. Others remember her as a loyal, thoughtful friend and having a strong, compassionate and empathetic nature, giving emotional support to other beloved members of her in-law family during their declining months, especially her late mother-in-law, Francis Adams, and her late sister-in-law, Susan Reilly, among others.
Mrs. Adams was the loving mother of Matthew D. Adams and his wife, Clarissa, of Quincy, Christopher M. Adams of Franklin, and Andrew L. Adams and his partner, Christine Brissette of Walpole; the cherished grandmother of Isabelle Catherine Adams, Victoria Christine Adams, Boston Andrew Adams, Hudson Wells Adams and soon-to-be-born grandson, Liam Anthony Adams.
Billie-Jo is also survived by dozens of devoted members of the extended Adams family. She will be missed dearly by her brothers/sisters-in-law, and her many nieces and nephews, in addition to her cherished and surviving Litchfield cousins of Maine. It should also be said that Billie always had a special place in her heart, particularly for her cousin Cheryl Sheehan, and her close, dear and devoted friends, Beverly Capobianchi and Gayle Palino.
At the request of Billie-Jo's family, all services will be private with interment taking place in the Blue Hill Cemetery, Braintree.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Animal Protection Center of Southeastern Massachusetts, 1300 West Elm Street, Ext., Brockton, MA 02301 or at https://www.apcsm.org
Arrangements by James H. Delaney & Son Funeral Home, Walpole.
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