Marion "Mimi" Thompson Adams

Marion Thompson Adams (Mimi), 90, beloved wife, mom, matriarch of our extended family, and dear friend to so many, died on Thursday, August 25, 2022, in Exeter, NH from complications of lung cancer. 

Born on August 16, 1932, to parents Hayward and Elizabeth Thompson, the youngest of three sisters, Mimi grew up in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, then attended Milton Academy where she played field hockey, basketball, and lacrosse. Her family moved to Charlotte, Vermont when she was 18, and she graduated from Middlebury College in 1954, with a Bachelor of Arts in American Literature. 

Mimi married Thomas William Adams (Tom) in 1956 in Charlotte, Vermont and moved to Boston, MA where she worked for Campbell and Hall book wholesaler, while Tom finished his residency in pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital. From 1959-1961, Tom served in the U.S. Air Force, and they were stationed in Ankara, Turkey for 2-1/2 years. Then they settled in Hamilton, MA, to raise their family and stayed for 43 years.

An avid booklover, Mimi co-founded the Book Shop of Beverly Farms in 1968, where she worked for over 30 years until moving to their cottage at the Ridge at RiverWoods in Exeter, NH, a retirement community where Mimi and her friends built and managed the library, among numerous other volunteer activities. 

Mimi was active in politics her entire life, worked at the polls, and supported candidates that stood for all the policies she was passionate about.  She loved book groups and read nonstop, loved animals and nature, joined weekly family Zoom gatherings, played bridge, and Rummikub with friends and family. She made an impact on everyone she touched and so many looked to her for wisdom and advice.  

She especially enjoyed traveling and visited over 80 places with family and friends over the course of her lifetime.  She gathered her family for summer vacations on Lake Champlain in Charlotte and Vergennes, VT, and by the beach in Gloucester, MA, and spent many winters in Sanibel, Florida, where her children and grandchildren came to visit every year. 

Mimi is survived by her husband of 66 years, Dr. Thomas William Adams, of Exeter, NH, Hayward Thompson Adams and his partner, Elizabeth Coughlan of Kennebunk, Maine, Dr. William Goldthwaite Adams and his wife Amy Singleton Adams of Wayland, MA, Katharine Adams Reynolds and her husband, Joshua Robert Reynolds of Winchester, MA, and Peter Masalsky of Waltham. She is preceded in death by her daughter Anne Adams Masalsky and leaves 7 grandchildren, Morgan Adams, Ian Adams and his wife Sophie Blease Adams, Adam, Nick and Lizzy Reynolds, Ben and Alec Adams, and 3 great grandchildren, Ollie, Isla and Callum Adams.  

The family is planning a Celebration of Life Service at Christ Church, Exeter, NH in October. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to a favorite charity, or Planned Parenthood of New England. 

Assisting the family with arrangements is the Cremation Society of NH, Manchester.