Celebration of Life: Michael Dennis Adams
Michael Dennis Adams, 74, claimed the promise of resurrection peacefully at his home Sunday, July 19, 2026. Born August 28, 1951 in Philadelphia, PA, he moved at one year old to Norfolk where he resided until May, 2023, when he married his beloved wife Judy Grigg Adams and moved to Hampton.
He was preceded in death by father Joseph Frances Adams, mother Belle Ann Adams, and wife of 17 years Judy Dale Batte Adams. In addition to his current wife Judy Grigg Adams, he is survived by sisters Barbara Bates (John), Linda Taylor (David), and Kathy Stankiewicz; his “bonus” children (Judy Dale’s son and daughter) Tom Harper (Jenn) and Kristin Corbett (Adam) and grandson Ashton Corbett, along with three nieces and 8 nephews. He was also blessed by Judy G’s sons Brad and Marty Anderson and families.
Michael graduated from Norfolk Catholic High School in 1969. For one year he attended ODU and was on the golf team. He then worked for the city of Norfolk for 35 years as a land surveyor, retiring as a crew chief. Loving golf, he worked part time at Lake Wright, then Kempsville Golf Courses. In addition to golf, and particularly The Masters, he was an avid New York Yankees fan while his wife was an equally avid Baltimore Orioles fan. They were able to work this out by respecting each other and loving the game of baseball.
Michael’s hobbies included woodworking, collecting sea glass and license plates, and gardening, a love he shared with Judy. Their home and yard are testaments to the attention he gave to his many talents.
Michael was a travelling man. In the short time they were blessed by marriage, Judy and Michael travelled to Hawaii, Maine, the national parks of the Southwest, and very special trips to Italy and Ireland, creating lasting memories together on every trip.
“Kind” was the word used most often by friends to describe Michael. He was always eager to help, whether for family, church, or a stranger in the grocery store parking lot. He was caregiver for Tommy Madison, a friend he made at Kempsville Golf Course, until Tommy died in 2024. No one could know Michael without being touched by his spirit.
Brief as their marriage was, Michael and Judy packed into their 3 ½ years, 20 years’ worth of traveling and adventures, celebrations and ordinary evenings at home, where Michael would faithfully watch every episode of NCIS or FBI. Judy told many friends how much she learned from Michael about patience, caring and kindness, and was blessed to share a life so filled with such wondrous love, a love that extends beyond the time they had together into eternity. A line from the hymn “O For a Heart to Praise My God” captures
Michael’s character and his love for Jesus Christ:
A humble, lowly, contrite heart, believing, true, and clean, which
Neither life nor death can part from Christ, who dwells within.