Dorothy Louise Adams

May 12, 1918 - September 3, 2011

Adams, Dorothy Louise (Wax), 93, of Norton, VA, entered into eternal rest on Saturday (Sept. 3, 2011) at Heritage Hall Healthcare in Big Stone Gap, VA. Mrs. Adams was born in Big Stone Gap, VA and graduated from the old Big Stone Gap High School. She spent most of her life in this area, with the exception of the ten years in Washington, D. C. and Baltimore, MD, when she was employed by the Naval Department as an Inspector of Naval Materials and Equipment. To be nearer to her home in Big Stone Gap, she resigned from the Navy Department in 1954. Shortly after returning to this area, she accepted a position as a counselor for deaf children with the Tennessee School for the Deaf in Knoxville, TN. In 1965, she was employed as a Social Worker for the Wise County and Norton Head Start Program for twenty-nine years, retiring in 1994. She was a member of the Norton United Methodist Church and the United Methodist Women. Louise was preceded in death by her loving husband, Carl Estel Adams; her parents, Rufus Lee and Bertie Laura (Hurd) Wax; two sisters, Helen Floy Dickens and husband, the Rev. Newton B. Dickens, and Frances Carter Wax Woodard; four brothers, Samuel Wingfield Wax and wife Nell Carroll Wax; Wayne Houston Wax, Ralph Miller Wax and wife Margaret Jenkins Wax and Don Luis Wax; and a step-son, Dr. Stephen Michael Adams. Surviving are nieces, Tamara Cooper and Toby Wax, both of Big Stone Gap, VA, Linda Wax Jenkins of Kingsport, TN, Nellie Wax Bellamy of Blountville, TN, Sharon Wax Feltner and Diana Wax Edwards, both of Dayton, OH; nephews, Sam Lynn Wax of Clute, TX and Garry Qualls of Newport News, VA; one sister-in-law, Mrs. Don (Irene Day) Wax of Big Stone Gap, VA; several cousins; three special caregivers, Sharon, Darlene and Fran; and a host of loving friends. The family will receive friends from 1:00 p.m. until 2:00 p.m. on Monday at Holding Funeral Home (17 E. 3rd St., N.) in Big Stone Gap, VA. The funeral service will be conducted at 2:00 p.m. in the funeral home chapel with the Rev. Chester Lamb officiating. Burial will follow in the Glencoe Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to the Lonesome Pine School and Heritage Center, P. O. Box 581, Big Stone Gap, VA 24219 or the Don Wax Memorial Scholarship Fund, c/o MECC Foundation, 3441 Mountain Empire Road, Big Stone Gap, VA 24219. To view the obituary and online registry, please visit www.holdingfuneralhome.com Holding Funeral Home is honored to serve the Adams family.