Obituary of R. -Bruce Adams

BALLSTON SPA R. Bruce Adams died in his Ballston Spa home on May 30, 2006 of pancreatic cancer. He was 66 years old. Bruce asked to be remembered first as the husband of Margaret M. Meg Knight and the father of Rebecca L. Romig and William J. Adams, both of State College, Pa. He also considered himself especially honored to serve as an elder in the Presbyterian Church (USA). For 13 years, Bruce served on the staff of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, retiring in 2003 as director of communications and media relations. Previously, he was executive producer and head of program production for Penn State University's public television station WPSX-TV (now WPSU). Ordained as a United Methodist minister in 1967, Bruce was a graduate of Penn State University and earned his master of divinity degree from the Theological School of Drew University. Prior to his work in higher education, Bruce served as the pastor of United Methodist churches in southern N.J. and central Pa. In recent years, he served as temporary supply pastor at the Presbyterian Church of Ballston Spa and at Hamilton Union Presbyterian Church in Guilderland. He had just completed all requirements for ordination as a minister in the Presbyterian Church and was seeking a call to service when his disease was diagnosed. An enthusiastic collector of Ballston Spa memorabilia and antique photographs, Bruce was an amateur authority on the early photographers of Centre County, Pa. and Saratoga County, N.Y. In addition to his wife and children, Bruce is survived by son-in-law, Robert Romig; grandchildren, Benjamin and Sarah Romig; and by his siblings and their spouses, Bill and Lois, Dick and Sue, Rose and George; and his brother, Lynn. Bruce's immediate family also includes Meg's son, Stephen Mutka; her mother, Jean Knight; her brother, Jonathan and his wife Phyllis; and dear friend, Philip Mutka. Bruce was preceded in death by his first wife and childhood friend, Donna Wicker Adams. There will be a service of praise and thanksgiving at the Presbyterian Church, 22 West High St., Ballston Spa, N.Y., June 7 at 4:30 p.m. The service will be followed by a light supper and opportunity for Bruce's friends, neighbors and family to share their memories and celebrate Bruce's life. Child care will be provided during the service. Memorial gifts to the church are especially appropriate.