Bob Adams, a MĂ©tis elder and longtime Nelson public works director and city councillor, has died at 82.
Adams, his wife Lynn, and their two children came to Nelson from Estevan, Sask., in 1978, when he accepted a position with the city.
Under his watch, the city upgraded the sewage treatment plant and Civic Centre. The biggest emergency he recalled occurred in the mid-1980s, when the Five Mile water line broke in the middle of winter and Anderson Creek filled up with gravel. The city then drew exclusively from Selous Creek, which had enough water to last three weeks.
“Had that happened in the summer,” he told the Nelson Daily News, “we would have been in deep do-do.”
Adams retired in 2004, after 26 years of service, but his absence from municipal circles was short-lived. In 2005, he ran successfully for city council, polling the second-highest number of votes.
Adams was re-elected in 2008, 2011, and 2014, but lost his seat in 2018, soon after the death of his wife Lynn. Afterward, he moved back to Saskatchewan to be closer to family.
Adams was active in a number of groups in Nelson including the Izu-Shi Friendship Society, the Kinsmen, and the Kootenay Region MĂ©tis Association. Each year, Adams presided as the MĂ©tis flag was raised at city hall on Louis Riel Day.
At his urging in 2018, city council kept the phrase “aboriginal persons” in the acknowledgement that began each council meeting rather than changing it to “Indigenous persons.”
In 2012, Adams was among the local recipients of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for community service. It was presented in honour of his service to the city and the MĂ©tis Nation of BC.
Adams also served as a justice of the peace in BC and Saskatchewan.
According to his obituary, Adams died this month in North Battleford. A celebration of his life is planned Oct. 18 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Hume Hotel.
