Obituary courtesy of Lewis Funeral Homes
Cleve Goldie Adams, age 69, of Navarre, FL passed away on Tuesday, August 17, 2021. He was born on December 31, 1951 in Yuba City, California, the youngest of seven children born to Floyd Ardell Adams and Zelda Barbara Atkinson. He and his brothers learned the value of hard work and long hours as they worked on the family peach farm. They spent many hours in the orchards at night irrigating and helping their dad with other farm duties. Cleve was very proud of his ability to use a shovel, and he put those skills to good use when he had a home of his own in California and later in Florida. His mother was a homemaker, a skilled pie and bread baker, and a scriptorian. From her, he learned to love the scriptures and studying them. Growing up in a farming community, Cleve played Little League baseball and participated in Boy Scouts, where his brother Burke was his scoutmaster. His 'claim to fame' occurred in third grade when he drew a picture of a pueblo and it was published in the local newspaper. In high school, Cleve played basketball his freshman year, was on the track team, and excelled in football. In his senior year, he was distinguished as the MVP defensive player in every game except one. In that game, he won MVP offensive player of the game. His father Floyd, who had retired from farming, would come to Cleve's games; afterwards, the two of them would go to the high school together and Cleve would help his father complete his custodial duties. Cleve graduated from Yuba City High School in 1970 and then went to Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah for his freshman year. Cleve was a lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served a two-year mission for the church in Peru. There, he learned to speak fluent Spanish, and would use his language ability in his future career and on some pretty awesome family trips to Mexico. He loved his mission and the humble people he met in Peru. Service in the church was part of who he was, and throughout his life, he taught Primary, Sunday School, and was heavily involved in Scouting. He served as Young Men's president, as a counselor in the Bishopric, and as a member of the High Council of the Pensacola, Florida stake. Following his two-year mission, he returned to BYU, where he met his future wife Debra Joyce Hoxie. They married June 27, 1975 in the Oakland Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and had three children together—Bret, Neil, and Denae. Cleve was a family man. There was nothing he loved more than spending time with his children and grandchildren. He said his only regret in life was that he had to work to earn a living and he would rather have spent his time doing things with the kids. Cleve had never played soccer growing up, but learned the game so he could coach the boys. He was an outstanding coach for both AYSO and then as a coach for club soccer. He taught those boys more than how to play the game of soccer. To him, they were his "extra sons" and he tried to give them life lessons along with coaching. Cleve was active in the Boy Scouts of America and was a Cub Master, Scoutmaster, and Varsity Scout leader. The camping he did with the scouts was "epic," and every year one of his two weeks of vacation was set aside to take the scouts camping. Together, he and Debbie spent nearly twenty years in Scouting. Cleve's love of music was evident throughout his life. He liked all kinds of music—classic, country, rock, blues—and loved great musicals. He went to many of them, including Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, and The Music Man, and had season tickets to the local theater to see all their annual productions. He loved watching a play just as much as being at a Garth Brooks concert or hearing the Eagles in concert. He went to see James Taylor, 3 Dog Night, and George Strait—to name just a few—and listened to both local artists and more well-known artists at the McCabe Guitar Shop in Los Angeles. Cleve learned to play guitar when in his teens and knew how to finger pick. He was a gifted acoustic guitar player and passed his love of music and his guitar skills on to his two boys. He acquired many guitars, some ukuleles, and a banjo along the way too. Cleve took many young men who were friends of his kids to purchase their first guitars. He always told the store owner, "This is one of my sons and we are here to pick out a guitar." After he had taken 10 or 12 kids to buy guitars, it became a joke and the owner would say, "You sure have a lot of sons, and most of them don't look at all like you." Cleve thought that was pretty funny. When his daughter Denae was born, Cleve had to change gears a bit. He was used to boys, and she opened up a whole different world for him. He went to every choir performance, every recital, and every competition that Denae was in. It was a new experience for him to drive teenage girls around to these events after doing Scouts and soccer, but he made the transition and enjoyed it. Any time he could be with his kids, grandkids, and family, he was a happy man. Cleve graduated from Brigham Young University with a bachelor's degree in History, a Spanish minor, and his teaching credential, and he had various careers afterward. He taught at a private school in Tequesta, Florida for a year, and then moved the family back to California where he taught History for the L.A. Unified School District. When an opportunity presented itself for him to work in Human Resources, he took it and spent the remainder of his career in that field. He earned an MBA at Cal Lutheran University and became an HR manager and later Director of HR at Valley Presbyterian Hospital in Van Nuys, CA. Later, he became VP of HR at Children's Hospital, Los Angeles. Cleve was active in HR organizations, and in 1994 he served as President of the Healthcare Human Resource Management Association (HHRMA) of California. His last job before retirement was as VP of HR at Industrial Metal Supply in the LA area. He loved the people there and the values of the company. When the time came to think about retirement, Cleve and Debbie decided Florida was the place, and they bought a piece of property in 2010 and built the home of their dreams. After 39 years in California, they moved to Navarre, Florida in 2015. Cleve loved the Navarre area and the beautiful waters of the Gulf with its white sands and gorgeous clouds. He loved to sit on the front porch and watch the rain when it came down and loved the warm, welcoming people he met in the South. He learned to understand what "Southern Hospitality" meant. Cleve often said how lucky he felt to be able to live in such a beautiful area. Cleve was known for his fun personality, his love of laughter, and being the "master of the pun." He was fiercely loyal to our country and its flag and always expressed gratitude for the men and women who served in the armed forces along with his son Neil. He appreciated life with all its challenges and blessings. Even as he battled cancer for 6 years, he kept his faith, his love of life, his enjoyment of people, and his wacky sense of humor. He was very grateful for the doctors and nurses of Baptist Hospital, Cirano Cancer Center, UF Cancer Center of Gainesville, O'Neal Cancer Center of UAB, and Moffitt Cancer Center of Tampa, who treated him and helped him have more time with his family. Cleve was a loving husband, son, brother, father, grandfather, uncle and friend. He is survived by his wife, Debbie, his son Bret Adams (Shannon) of Gulf Breeze, Florida, his son Neil (Jackie) of Navarre, Florida, his daughter Denae of Navarre, Florida, and five grandchildren. He is loved by his two remaining brothers Kent (Jackie) Adams of Idaho and Marc (Jennie) of Utah, his sister-in-law Darla Adams of Utah, and his cousins, nieces, and nephews. Cleve's final resting place will be at Beal Memorial Cemetery in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. A Memorial Service will be held Saturday, September 11, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day, 1753 Sea Lark Lane, Navarre, Florida 32566. A luncheon will follow and all are invited and encouraged to follow COVID-safe regulations.
To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Cleve Goldie Adams please visit our Tribute Store.
Cleve Goldie Adams, age 69, of Navarre, FL passed away on Tuesday, August 17, 2021. He was born on December 31, 1951 in Yuba City, California, the youngest of seven children born to Floyd Ardell Adams and Zelda Barbara Atkinson. He and his brothers learned the value of hard work and long hours as they worked on the family peach farm. They spent many hours in the orchards at night irrigating and helping their dad with other farm duties. Cleve was very proud of his ability to use a shovel, and he put those skills to good use when he had a home of his own in California and later in Florida. His mother was a homemaker, a skilled pie and bread baker, and a scriptorian. From her, he learned to love the scriptures and studying them. Growing up in a farming community, Cleve played Little League baseball and participated in Boy Scouts, where his brother Burke was his scoutmaster. His 'claim to fame' occurred in third grade when he drew a picture of a pueblo and it was published in the local newspaper. In high school, Cleve played basketball his freshman year, was on the track team, and excelled in football. In his senior year, he was distinguished as the MVP defensive player in every game except one. In that game, he won MVP offensive player of the game. His father Floyd, who had retired from farming, would come to Cleve's games; afterwards, the two of them would go to the high school together and Cleve would help his father complete his custodial duties. Cleve graduated from Yuba City High School in 1970 and then went to Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah for his freshman year. Cleve was a lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served a two-year mission for the church in Peru. There, he learned to speak fluent Spanish, and would use his language ability in his future career and on some pretty awesome family trips to Mexico. He loved his mission and the humble people he met in Peru. Service in the church was part of who he was, and throughout his life, he taught Primary, Sunday School, and was heavily involved in Scouting. He served as Young Men's president, as a counselor in the Bishopric, and as a member of the High Council of the Pensacola, Florida stake. Following his two-year mission, he returned to BYU, where he met his future wife Debra Joyce Hoxie. They married June 27, 1975 in the Oakland Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and had three children together—Bret, Neil, and Denae. Cleve was a family man. There was nothing he loved more than spending time with his children and grandchildren. He said his only regret in life was that he had to work to earn a living and he would rather have spent his time doing things with the kids. Cleve had never played soccer growing up, but learned the game so he could coach the boys. He was an outstanding coach for both AYSO and then as a coach for club soccer. He taught those boys more than how to play the game of soccer. To him, they were his "extra sons" and he tried to give them life lessons along with coaching. Cleve was active in the Boy Scouts of America and was a Cub Master, Scoutmaster, and Varsity Scout leader. The camping he did with the scouts was "epic," and every year one of his two weeks of vacation was set aside to take the scouts camping. Together, he and Debbie spent nearly twenty years in Scouting. Cleve's love of music was evident throughout his life. He liked all kinds of music—classic, country, rock, blues—and loved great musicals. He went to many of them, including Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, and The Music Man, and had season tickets to the local theater to see all their annual productions. He loved watching a play just as much as being at a Garth Brooks concert or hearing the Eagles in concert. He went to see James Taylor, 3 Dog Night, and George Strait—to name just a few—and listened to both local artists and more well-known artists at the McCabe Guitar Shop in Los Angeles. Cleve learned to play guitar when in his teens and knew how to finger pick. He was a gifted acoustic guitar player and passed his love of music and his guitar skills on to his two boys. He acquired many guitars, some ukuleles, and a banjo along the way too. Cleve took many young men who were friends of his kids to purchase their first guitars. He always told the store owner, "This is one of my sons and we are here to pick out a guitar." After he had taken 10 or 12 kids to buy guitars, it became a joke and the owner would say, "You sure have a lot of sons, and most of them don't look at all like you." Cleve thought that was pretty funny. When his daughter Denae was born, Cleve had to change gears a bit. He was used to boys, and she opened up a whole different world for him. He went to every choir performance, every recital, and every competition that Denae was in. It was a new experience for him to drive teenage girls around to these events after doing Scouts and soccer, but he made the transition and enjoyed it. Any time he could be with his kids, grandkids, and family, he was a happy man. Cleve graduated from Brigham Young University with a bachelor's degree in History, a Spanish minor, and his teaching credential, and he had various careers afterward. He taught at a private school in Tequesta, Florida for a year, and then moved the family back to California where he taught History for the L.A. Unified School District. When an opportunity presented itself for him to work in Human Resources, he took it and spent the remainder of his career in that field. He earned an MBA at Cal Lutheran University and became an HR manager and later Director of HR at Valley Presbyterian Hospital in Van Nuys, CA. Later, he became VP of HR at Children's Hospital, Los Angeles. Cleve was active in HR organizations, and in 1994 he served as President of the Healthcare Human Resource Management Association (HHRMA) of California. His last job before retirement was as VP of HR at Industrial Metal Supply in the LA area. He loved the people there and the values of the company. When the time came to think about retirement, Cleve and Debbie decided Florida was the place, and they bought a piece of property in 2010 and built the home of their dreams. After 39 years in California, they moved to Navarre, Florida in 2015. Cleve loved the Navarre area and the beautiful waters of the Gulf with its white sands and gorgeous clouds. He loved to sit on the front porch and watch the rain when it came down and loved the warm, welcoming people he met in the South. He learned to understand what "Southern Hospitality" meant. Cleve often said how lucky he felt to be able to live in such a beautiful area. Cleve was known for his fun personality, his love of laughter, and being the "master of the pun." He was fiercely loyal to our country and its flag and always expressed gratitude for the men and women who served in the armed forces along with his son Neil. He appreciated life with all its challenges and blessings. Even as he battled cancer for 6 years, he kept his faith, his love of life, his enjoyment of people, and his wacky sense of humor. He was very grateful for the doctors and nurses of Baptist Hospital, Cirano Cancer Center, UF Cancer Center of Gainesville, O'Neal Cancer Center of UAB, and Moffitt Cancer Center of Tampa, who treated him and helped him have more time with his family. Cleve was a loving husband, son, brother, father, grandfather, uncle and friend. He is survived by his wife, Debbie, his son Bret Adams (Shannon) of Gulf Breeze, Florida, his son Neil (Jackie) of Navarre, Florida, his daughter Denae of Navarre, Florida, and five grandchildren. He is loved by his two remaining brothers Kent (Jackie) Adams of Idaho and Marc (Jennie) of Utah, his sister-in-law Darla Adams of Utah, and his cousins, nieces, and nephews. Cleve's final resting place will be at Beal Memorial Cemetery in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. A Memorial Service will be held Saturday, September 11, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day, 1753 Sea Lark Lane, Navarre, Florida 32566. A luncheon will follow and all are invited and encouraged to follow COVID-safe regulations.
To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Cleve Goldie Adams please visit our Tribute Store.
Obituary courtesy of Lewis Funeral Homes
Cleve Goldie Adams, age 69, of Navarre, FL passed away on Tuesday, August 17, 2021. He was born on December 31, 1951 in Yuba City, California, the youngest of seven children born to Floyd Ardell Adams and Zelda Barbara Atkinson. He and his brothers learned the value of hard work and long hours as they worked on the family peach farm. They spent many hours in the orchards at night irrigating and helping their dad with other farm duties. Cleve was very proud of his ability to use a shovel, and he put those skills to good use when he had a home of his own in California and later in Florida. His mother was a homemaker, a skilled pie and bread baker, and a scriptorian. From her, he learned to love the scriptures and studying them. Growing up in a farming community, Cleve played Little League baseball and participated in Boy Scouts, where his brother Burke was his scoutmaster. His 'claim to fame' occurred in third grade when he drew a picture of a pueblo and it was published in the local newspaper. In high school, Cleve played basketball his freshman year, was on the track team, and excelled in football. In his senior year, he was distinguished as the MVP defensive player in every game except one. In that game, he won MVP offensive player of the game. His father Floyd, who had retired from farming, would come to Cleve's games; afterwards, the two of them would go to the high school together and Cleve would help his father complete his custodial duties. Cleve graduated from Yuba City High School in 1970 and then went to Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah for his freshman year. Cleve was a lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served a two-year mission for the church in Peru. There, he learned to speak fluent Spanish, and would use his language ability in his future career and on some pretty awesome family trips to Mexico. He loved his mission and the humble people he met in Peru. Service in the church was part of who he was, and throughout his life, he taught Primary, Sunday School, and was heavily involved in Scouting. He served as Young Men's president, as a counselor in the Bishopric, and as a member of the High Council of the Pensacola, Florida stake. Following his two-year mission, he returned to BYU, where he met his future wife Debra Joyce Hoxie. They married June 27, 1975 in the Oakland Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and had three children together—Bret, Neil, and Denae. Cleve was a family man. There was nothing he loved more than spending time with his children and grandchildren. He said his only regret in life was that he had to work to earn a living and he would rather have spent his time doing things with the kids. Cleve had never played soccer growing up, but learned the game so he could coach the boys. He was an outstanding coach for both AYSO and then as a coach for club soccer. He taught those boys more than how to play the game of soccer. To him, they were his "extra sons" and he tried to give them life lessons along with coaching. Cleve was active in the Boy Scouts of America and was a Cub Master, Scoutmaster, and Varsity Scout leader. The camping he did with the scouts was "epic," and every year one of his two weeks of vacation was set aside to take the scouts camping. Together, he and Debbie spent nearly twenty years in Scouting. Cleve's love of music was evident throughout his life. He liked all kinds of music—classic, country, rock, blues—and loved great musicals. He went to many of them, including Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, and The Music Man, and had season tickets to the local theater to see all their annual productions. He loved watching a play just as much as being at a Garth Brooks concert or hearing the Eagles in concert. He went to see James Taylor, 3 Dog Night, and George Strait—to name just a few—and listened to both local artists and more well-known artists at the McCabe Guitar Shop in Los Angeles. Cleve learned to play guitar when in his teens and knew how to finger pick. He was a gifted acoustic guitar player and passed his love of music and his guitar skills on to his two boys. He acquired many guitars, some ukuleles, and a banjo along the way too. Cleve took many young men who were friends of his kids to purchase their first guitars. He always told the store owner, "This is one of my sons and we are here to pick out a guitar." After he had taken 10 or 12 kids to buy guitars, it became a joke and the owner would say, "You sure have a lot of sons, and most of them don't look at all like you." Cleve thought that was pretty funny. When his daughter Denae was born, Cleve had to change gears a bit. He was used to boys, and she opened up a whole different world for him. He went to every choir performance, every recital, and every competition that Denae was in. It was a new experience for him to drive teenage girls around to these events after doing Scouts and soccer, but he made the transition and enjoyed it. Any time he could be with his kids, grandkids, and family, he was a happy man. Cleve graduated from Brigham Young University with a bachelor's degree in History, a Spanish minor, and his teaching credential, and he had various careers afterward. He taught at a private school in Tequesta, Florida for a year, and then moved the family back to California where he taught History for the L.A. Unified School District. When an opportunity presented itself for him to work in Human Resources, he took it and spent the remainder of his career in that field. He earned an MBA at Cal Lutheran University and became an HR manager and later Director of HR at Valley Presbyterian Hospital in Van Nuys, CA. Later, he became VP of HR at Children's Hospital, Los Angeles. Cleve was active in HR organizations, and in 1994 he served as President of the Healthcare Human Resource Management Association (HHRMA) of California. His last job before retirement was as VP of HR at Industrial Metal Supply in the LA area. He loved the people there and the values of the company. When the time came to think about retirement, Cleve and Debbie decided Florida was the place, and they bought a piece of property in 2010 and built the home of their dreams. After 39 years in California, they moved to Navarre, Florida in 2015. Cleve loved the Navarre area and the beautiful waters of the Gulf with its white sands and gorgeous clouds. He loved to sit on the front porch and watch the rain when it came down and loved the warm, welcoming people he met in the South. He learned to understand what "Southern Hospitality" meant. Cleve often said how lucky he felt to be able to live in such a beautiful area. Cleve was known for his fun personality, his love of laughter, and being the "master of the pun." He was fiercely loyal to our country and its flag and always expressed gratitude for the men and women who served in the armed forces along with his son Neil. He appreciated life with all its challenges and blessings. Even as he battled cancer for 6 years, he kept his faith, his love of life, his enjoyment of people, and his wacky sense of humor. He was very grateful for the doctors and nurses of Baptist Hospital, Cirano Cancer Center, UF Cancer Center of Gainesville, O'Neal Cancer Center of UAB, and Moffitt Cancer Center of Tampa, who treated him and helped him have more time with his family. Cleve was a loving husband, son, brother, father, grandfather, uncle and friend. He is survived by his wife, Debbie, his son Bret Adams (Shannon) of Gulf Breeze, Florida, his son Neil (Jackie) of Navarre, Florida, his daughter Denae of Navarre, Florida, and five grandchildren. He is loved by his two remaining brothers Kent (Jackie) Adams of Idaho and Marc (Jennie) of Utah, his sister-in-law Darla Adams of Utah, and his cousins, nieces, and nephews. Cleve's final resting place will be at Beal Memorial Cemetery in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. A Memorial Service will be held Saturday, September 11, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day, 1753 Sea Lark Lane, Navarre, Florida 32566. A luncheon will follow and all are invited and encouraged to follow COVID-safe regulations.
To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Cleve Goldie Adams please visit our Tribute Store.
Cleve Goldie Adams, age 69, of Navarre, FL passed away on Tuesday, August 17, 2021. He was born on December 31, 1951 in Yuba City, California, the youngest of seven children born to Floyd Ardell Adams and Zelda Barbara Atkinson. He and his brothers learned the value of hard work and long hours as they worked on the family peach farm. They spent many hours in the orchards at night irrigating and helping their dad with other farm duties. Cleve was very proud of his ability to use a shovel, and he put those skills to good use when he had a home of his own in California and later in Florida. His mother was a homemaker, a skilled pie and bread baker, and a scriptorian. From her, he learned to love the scriptures and studying them. Growing up in a farming community, Cleve played Little League baseball and participated in Boy Scouts, where his brother Burke was his scoutmaster. His 'claim to fame' occurred in third grade when he drew a picture of a pueblo and it was published in the local newspaper. In high school, Cleve played basketball his freshman year, was on the track team, and excelled in football. In his senior year, he was distinguished as the MVP defensive player in every game except one. In that game, he won MVP offensive player of the game. His father Floyd, who had retired from farming, would come to Cleve's games; afterwards, the two of them would go to the high school together and Cleve would help his father complete his custodial duties. Cleve graduated from Yuba City High School in 1970 and then went to Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah for his freshman year. Cleve was a lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served a two-year mission for the church in Peru. There, he learned to speak fluent Spanish, and would use his language ability in his future career and on some pretty awesome family trips to Mexico. He loved his mission and the humble people he met in Peru. Service in the church was part of who he was, and throughout his life, he taught Primary, Sunday School, and was heavily involved in Scouting. He served as Young Men's president, as a counselor in the Bishopric, and as a member of the High Council of the Pensacola, Florida stake. Following his two-year mission, he returned to BYU, where he met his future wife Debra Joyce Hoxie. They married June 27, 1975 in the Oakland Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and had three children together—Bret, Neil, and Denae. Cleve was a family man. There was nothing he loved more than spending time with his children and grandchildren. He said his only regret in life was that he had to work to earn a living and he would rather have spent his time doing things with the kids. Cleve had never played soccer growing up, but learned the game so he could coach the boys. He was an outstanding coach for both AYSO and then as a coach for club soccer. He taught those boys more than how to play the game of soccer. To him, they were his "extra sons" and he tried to give them life lessons along with coaching. Cleve was active in the Boy Scouts of America and was a Cub Master, Scoutmaster, and Varsity Scout leader. The camping he did with the scouts was "epic," and every year one of his two weeks of vacation was set aside to take the scouts camping. Together, he and Debbie spent nearly twenty years in Scouting. Cleve's love of music was evident throughout his life. He liked all kinds of music—classic, country, rock, blues—and loved great musicals. He went to many of them, including Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, and The Music Man, and had season tickets to the local theater to see all their annual productions. He loved watching a play just as much as being at a Garth Brooks concert or hearing the Eagles in concert. He went to see James Taylor, 3 Dog Night, and George Strait—to name just a few—and listened to both local artists and more well-known artists at the McCabe Guitar Shop in Los Angeles. Cleve learned to play guitar when in his teens and knew how to finger pick. He was a gifted acoustic guitar player and passed his love of music and his guitar skills on to his two boys. He acquired many guitars, some ukuleles, and a banjo along the way too. Cleve took many young men who were friends of his kids to purchase their first guitars. He always told the store owner, "This is one of my sons and we are here to pick out a guitar." After he had taken 10 or 12 kids to buy guitars, it became a joke and the owner would say, "You sure have a lot of sons, and most of them don't look at all like you." Cleve thought that was pretty funny. When his daughter Denae was born, Cleve had to change gears a bit. He was used to boys, and she opened up a whole different world for him. He went to every choir performance, every recital, and every competition that Denae was in. It was a new experience for him to drive teenage girls around to these events after doing Scouts and soccer, but he made the transition and enjoyed it. Any time he could be with his kids, grandkids, and family, he was a happy man. Cleve graduated from Brigham Young University with a bachelor's degree in History, a Spanish minor, and his teaching credential, and he had various careers afterward. He taught at a private school in Tequesta, Florida for a year, and then moved the family back to California where he taught History for the L.A. Unified School District. When an opportunity presented itself for him to work in Human Resources, he took it and spent the remainder of his career in that field. He earned an MBA at Cal Lutheran University and became an HR manager and later Director of HR at Valley Presbyterian Hospital in Van Nuys, CA. Later, he became VP of HR at Children's Hospital, Los Angeles. Cleve was active in HR organizations, and in 1994 he served as President of the Healthcare Human Resource Management Association (HHRMA) of California. His last job before retirement was as VP of HR at Industrial Metal Supply in the LA area. He loved the people there and the values of the company. When the time came to think about retirement, Cleve and Debbie decided Florida was the place, and they bought a piece of property in 2010 and built the home of their dreams. After 39 years in California, they moved to Navarre, Florida in 2015. Cleve loved the Navarre area and the beautiful waters of the Gulf with its white sands and gorgeous clouds. He loved to sit on the front porch and watch the rain when it came down and loved the warm, welcoming people he met in the South. He learned to understand what "Southern Hospitality" meant. Cleve often said how lucky he felt to be able to live in such a beautiful area. Cleve was known for his fun personality, his love of laughter, and being the "master of the pun." He was fiercely loyal to our country and its flag and always expressed gratitude for the men and women who served in the armed forces along with his son Neil. He appreciated life with all its challenges and blessings. Even as he battled cancer for 6 years, he kept his faith, his love of life, his enjoyment of people, and his wacky sense of humor. He was very grateful for the doctors and nurses of Baptist Hospital, Cirano Cancer Center, UF Cancer Center of Gainesville, O'Neal Cancer Center of UAB, and Moffitt Cancer Center of Tampa, who treated him and helped him have more time with his family. Cleve was a loving husband, son, brother, father, grandfather, uncle and friend. He is survived by his wife, Debbie, his son Bret Adams (Shannon) of Gulf Breeze, Florida, his son Neil (Jackie) of Navarre, Florida, his daughter Denae of Navarre, Florida, and five grandchildren. He is loved by his two remaining brothers Kent (Jackie) Adams of Idaho and Marc (Jennie) of Utah, his sister-in-law Darla Adams of Utah, and his cousins, nieces, and nephews. Cleve's final resting place will be at Beal Memorial Cemetery in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. A Memorial Service will be held Saturday, September 11, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day, 1753 Sea Lark Lane, Navarre, Florida 32566. A luncheon will follow and all are invited and encouraged to follow COVID-safe regulations.
To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Cleve Goldie Adams please visit our Tribute Store.
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