Mary Lou (Rutt) Adamson passed peacefully from this life in Pacifica, California at the home of her daughter Rebekah. She woke up in the loving arms of Jesus, her Savior, on November 25, 2021 at the age of 87. 

Mary Lou was born to Glenn and Marion (Watkins) Rutt on March 6, 1934 in Yakima, Washington.  Her younger brother, Glenn L. Rutt, joined her in 1935.  As a child, she enjoyed camping and fishing with her family. She called herself a tomboy and she pitched for a neighborhood boys’ baseball team.  After she accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as her Savior at a Christian summer camp, she started a Christian club at her high school. Mary Lou graduated from Fremont High School in Sunnyvale, CA  in 1951.

She married her high school sweetheart, Duane Adamson, on August 2, 1953 at Union Church of Cupertino. Mary Lou went on to get her nursing degree at San Jose Hospital Nursing School, California. After graduation, she worked as a nurse in pediatrics and eventually helped autistic children communicate using music therapy.

Her husband, Duane Adamson, went to seminary and then became a pastor, launching her into the wonderful calling of being a pastor‘s wife. Together, Duane and Mary Lou brought encouragement and the message of salvation through Jesus Christ to countless people. As a pastor‘s wife, she wore many hats. She was an excellent wedding coordinator.  She enjoyed singing alto in the choir. She worked with women’s ministries—counseling young women to love their husbands, helping with arts and crafts, and decorating cupcakes for the women’s ministry birthday luncheons. 

While Duane was district superintendent of the Central Pacific District of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, she wrote letters to encourage all of the pastors and their wives. Many of them reported that she sent them the exact Scripture verses they needed at that moment. She also arranged for pastors wives to have prayer partners with each other for support, encouragement and spiritual uplifting. Duane and Mary Lou enjoyed traveling throughout the district (Northern California, Nevada, Utah, and Hawaii) visiting and encouraging the churches, pastors, and their families.

Mary Lou and Duane were blessed with three daughters. She loved being a mom, spending time with her children, sewing for them, and teaching them to be good wives and mothers when they grew up. The family would go tent camping every year and she would plan and prepare menus for two whole weeks. She was very organized.

She loved cooking, birdwatching, word puzzles, board games, and novels. She enjoyed listening to Christian music, and she read the Bible and Christian books almost every day. Mary Lou believed in the power of prayer because she believed in our loving Father who listens to His children.

Mary Lou is survived by her beloved husband of 68 years, David Duane Adamson; her three daughters, Michal Ann Simenson (David), Debbie Valenta (Chris), and Rebekah Gross (David); seven grandchildren: Timothy, Jennifer, Benjamin, Peter, Emily, Glenn, and Joey; and five great-grandchildren.

There will be a memorial service in honor of Mary Lou Adamson on March 5, 2022 at 2:00 PM at Pacific Bay Christian school, 1030 Linda Mar Boulevard, Pacifica, California. 

The family would like to especially thank the Kaiser South San Francisco Hospice Team for their loving care of Mary Lou and their support of the household during the last months of her life. 

One of Mary Lou’s favorite verses was I Peter 5:6,7 which says “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.“