Carl Dwain Adams (CD)

Carl Dwain Adams (CD), 83, of Amarillo, TX passed away January 17, 2025.

Visitation will be from 6-8:00 PM, Thursday, January 23, 2025 at Boxwell Brothers, 2800 Paramount. Memorial service will be at 2:00 PM, Friday, January 24, 2025 at Crossroads Country Church, 14425 FM Rd 1541 CD’s old barn. Private interment will be in Castro Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Dimmitt. Arrangements are by Boxwell Brothers Funeral Directors. 

CD was born January 28, 1941 in Montevista, CO to R.C. and Edith Adams. He is predeceased by his parents, his 2 brothers and 2 sisters, his wife of 59 years and 11 months, Barbara Adams and his step-son, David Nolen of New

CD was a longtime resident of Amarillo, TX. He was a business owner and outdoor loving family man. He and Barbara owned Tex-Mex Ditching company for 15 years in Amarillo, where he worked burring telephone cables for Southwestern Bell. Prior to that, he worked as a butcher in Hereford, TX for 13 years. The butcher shop was a good format for him to hone his social skills, some people might even say, he could talk to a fence post, but occasionally he did encourage a response. He also learned to fly aIn airplane in Hereford. Many in the family, flew with him on their first flights. Ironically, he never flew on a commercial airlines; he did not trust commercial pilots. However, later his pilot instructor, Ralph Pettigo, flew for Southwest Airlines, and he claimed, he would fly if he was the pilot, but it never came to fruition. 

Hereford was also the place he met some of his best life long friends, Deputy Dean Butcher, Angel Gomez (business partner) and Jerry Parker, a local rancher that allowed them to hunt his quail, dove, pheasants, coyotes and the occasional rattlesnake, that got in his way while hunting. Those three amigos had 7 boys of varying ages that they hauled hunting every weekend during season. He never lost a hunter, a kid or a dog, but occasionally, he did pepper them with pellets.

He saw so many fun things in nature that he loved to tell stories about. Unfortunately, he did not have the luxury of having a phone to take photos. Like a rattlesnake striking and killing a quail that was trying to escape getting shot. Or heaven help, if someone saw a coyote in the pasture, you better hold on tight if you were in the back of the pickup, ‘cause you were about to be in hot pursuit. The kids learned quickly to hold on tight. The moms were generally oblivious until the boys got older. 

Work just provided him the funds he needed to do all the things he loved! He loved fishing, some of the family’s best memories are of camping/fishing trips in Oklahoma, at Quartz Mountain State Park, near Altus. His mom and brother lived there and loved to fish as well. He and his brother Jack would go fishing nearly every weekend. One trip, they were on Lake Baylor, a small lake that you could only use a trolling motor on, when they saw a rattlesnake swimming across the lake. They decided they were going to kill it in the middle of the lake, CD grabbed an oar, to whack it, and it coiled on the water as if to strike, he decided, he would let it finish swimming across, then kill it. 

Later after he retired from his business, he and his son, Jeff, started roping. He bought some land on South Washington in 1983, and built a roping arena and barn on it. He had about as much fun as a person deserves to have during retirement. He was well known at the local ropings and jackpots, all over the panhandle of Texas. Jeff remembers having to take two horses to the ropings as CD was likely to sell one of them right out from under him If someone made an offer he thought was fair, he would do some horse trading. If someone needed a place to board their horse, or if young cowboys or cowgirls needed an arena to rope or ride barrels, or have a mutton bustin for Make a Wish, CD’s Place, was always available, at no charge. If he owned it, he would give it to you. 

He is survived by his daughter Tracy Thornlow and son Jeff Adams. He has 3 granddaughters, Brittney Bergeron (William Bergeron), Jordan and McKenna Thornlow, and one grandson, Tyler Adams and two great-granddaughters Neveah and Graclyn Bergeron.

He was a member of the Crossroads Church, in his old barn, on South Washington, which he sold to the church in 2014. Special thanks to Hidden Happiness Care Home and Jessica Wilson where he spent his last 4 months of his life being in a small group home, with a dedicated caregiver. Jessica and her caregivers were life savers during this tough time for him and his family.