David Adams
10/15/1954-01/10/2015

David Adams passed away peacefully at his home in Dutch Harbor, AK.  David was a caring and devoted father, a loyal son, an adventurous spirit, an avid traveler, a mischievous prankster, and a terrific friend. (Read more here).

Born in Hobbs, New Mexico, David grew up in Texas, New Mexico and Japan. He moved to Alaska as a young man.  

David lived in Homer for several years where he was a jack of all trades. He worked as a commercial fisherman and operated a set net site.  He refurbished a houseboat that he maintained on MacDonald Spit.  David moved to Unalaska where he worked as a longshoreman, crane operator, and dispatcher for many years.  David was a well-known presence in McCarthy where he built and owned a cabin regarded as having the best view of the Wrangell Mountains.  

To say that David had a passion for adventure would be an understatement.  He was a skilled dog musher.  He spent three months driving a dog team 1,600 miles across Baffin Island near Greenland where the wind chill reached 126 degrees below zero and where his eyes froze shut. He pioneered several new cross country routes with a dog team from Bethel to Nome to Point Hope.  David dog mushed along the entire north coast of Alaska, at one point breaking trail for 56 miles in a pair of snowshoes.  He crossed the Harding Ice Field.  David helped guide the first woman to summit Mt. Iliamna.  

David’s adventures were not limited to Alaska.  He was a world traveler.  Earlier in life, he was a self-described “danger junkie.”  His travels included places such as Northern Pakistan and Kashmir.  He also traveled to other places in India, including a winter-time visit to Ladakh.  He explored Egypt, China, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and many other exotic locations.  He once traveled on the Trans-Siberian Railroad.

In a note to a friend nearly thirty years ago, David wrote, “As you grow older, you’ll find the only things you regret are the things you didn’t do.  If the creator had a purpose in equipping us with a neck, he surely meant us to stick it out.”  Although he was taken from us much too soon, David did not get cheated in this regard.  He lived life to its fullest.  He was a large man, in all respects.  He had a long neck, and he lived to take chances.  

David had a brush with death in 2007.  He was in a coma for months as family and friends sat by his bedside.  He had the misfortune to lose a leg.  The courage David displayed in getting through that ordeal will be forever remembered by those who witnessed it.

For all of his adventures, David will best be remembered for his loving devotion to his daughters Denali and Anna.  He was very proud of them.  No one could doubt that he would have traded all of his adventures to be their father.  

David is survived by his daughters, Anna and Denali, his brother Daniel, his sister-in-law Sierra, his nephew Kona, his father Tam, and several other extended family members including his cousin Gordon with whom David was particularly close.  David was predeceased by his mother Margaret, who adored him.  Among other relatives who predeceased David were his Uncle Doyle and Aunt Rachel.

David left us much too soon.  His stories, humor, generosity, and love for family and friends live on.