WHEREAS, Carl Douglas Adams, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, husband, attorney and businessman, community leader and activist, and passionate philanthropist, died on January 30, 2011; and

WHEREAS, Douglas Adams was born on December 23, 1925, in Washington, D.C.; he was the beloved son of Margaret Franklin Megeath and Carl Douglas Adams, Sr., and caring brother of the late Robert; and

WHEREAS, Douglas Adams graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.A. in 1946 and J.D. in 1949; and

WHEREAS, Douglas Adams enjoyed 41 years of marriage to the late Fern Lorraine Legge and together they raised their five children, Ellen, the late Kevin, Garth, Sarah, and Leith; he later enjoyed 10 years of marriage to the late Kaye Nicholson and together they raised her two children, Rachel and Nicholas; and

WHEREAS, Douglas Adams began work at 16 as a clerk-typist for the U.S. War Department, completing high school at night; practiced law in Annandale from 1949 to 1988; and was president of Adams-Legge Development Group, a family-owned real estate development firm in Winchester; and

WHEREAS, Douglas Adams was appointed in 1983 by Governor Charles S. Robb to the Board of Visitors of George Mason University and served with distinction for two terms; he served as member and then as Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Institute of Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University from 1985 to 1991; and

WHEREAS, Douglas Adams joined the Annandale Lions Club in 1950, serving as its president and as a member of its board of directors; he maintained perfect attendance through 32 years of active membership, after which he continued as a member at large until 1990; and

WHEREAS, Douglas Adams, with his wife Fern, was among the founders of the Unitarian Fellowship in Annandale that later became the Fairfax Unitarian Church in Oakton, where he served at one time as chairman of the congregation; subsequently, he was an active member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Shenandoah Valley; and

WHEREAS, Douglas Adams was an active parent member of Burgundy Farm Country Day School, serving several years on its board of directors and for two years as president during the 43 child-years their children attended; he was a critical supporter and benefactor of the innovative Burgundy Center for Wildlife Studies near Capon Bridge, West Virginia, throughout its establishment and thereafter; and

WHEREAS, Douglas Adams helped form the Fairfax County Council on Human Relations, and served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Virginia Council on Human Relations in the 1960s; he was one of the founders and chairman of the committee that created the first public library in Annandale, now the George Mason Library of the Fairfax County Public Library system; he was active in the Fairfax County Bar Association and served as its president in 1970; he was a founder of the Annandale Interservice Council and its chairman for two years; and

WHEREAS, after a long and distinguished life, Douglas Adams leaves behind a stellar record of committed service to his community, support of progressive causes, and the well-being of his large and extended family for others to emulate; and

WHEREAS, a devoted and caring family man, Douglas Adams will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by his children, Ellen, Garth, Sarah and Leith; their wonderful families; his step-children, Nicholas and Rachel; and numerous other family members and friends; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of a father, grandfather, great-grandfather, husband, attorney and businessman, community leader and activist, and passionate philanthropist, Carl Douglas Adams; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Carl Douglas Adams as an expression of the General Assembly's respect for his memory.