Kate Lee Harris Adams, 44-2
d Dec. 8, 2002

From: The North Carolina Herald Sun
Date: 20 Dec 2002

Mrs. Kate Lee Harris Adams, 83, died Tuesday morning at the Pavilion at Croasdaile Village. Mrs. Adams was born and raised in Durham, graduating from Durham High School in 1937. Kate Lee was an enthusiastic lover of life. While still at Duke University, she learned to fly in 1939 in the civilian pilot training program. She graduated from Duke in fine arts in 1941 and enrolled in the Air Force as a WASP in 1943.

While stationed in Texas, she flew into a dust storm and had to make an emergency landing. With a partially obscured windshield, she managed to get the aircraft onto the field, but nosed up at the end. A smarty-pants lieutenant drove his jeep down to see if she was OK and saw her emerge from the aircraft with a blackened face except for two white angry eyes that appeared from behind her goggles. Lt. Robert Adams decided it would be safer if he left her at the end of the runway and drove back to base. Six months later, they were married.

Kate Lee and Bob lived eight years in Kansas City, then moved to Houston in 1953. She raised her family there, was an active member of St. Mark's Episcopal Church, and volunteered frequently for various charities. She was active in the WASP activities and helped the WASPs gain full military veteran status. Although she had many friends in Houston, her real home was always Durham, and after Bob died in 1999, she returned in 2000. She found many new friends at her new home in Croasdaile Village, where she participated in as many activities as her time would allow.

Kate Lee was a seasoned world traveler. She told her friends that "go" was her middle name. She loved history and art and most enjoyed her trips to China, Russia, and Egypt. Her tour group was one of the first to be allowed into China. She commented that the tourists themselves were a huge attraction, as many Chinese had never seen a Caucasian face. She was looking forward to a trip to Italy in the spring of 2003.

Mrs. Adams is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Robert and Mary Adams of Stoughton, Mass.; daughter and son-in-law, Nancy A. and Kyle Chandler of San Diego, Calif.; grandchildren, Krista Chandler, Paris Adams, and Lily Adams; and nieces, Martha and Debra Harris. Memorial services will be held at two separate times, Sunday, January 12, at 3 p.m. at Trinity United Methodist Church, and Wednesday, January 15, at 2 p.m. at Ponder Auditorium, Croasdaile Village. The family will have a private interment at Maplewood Cemetery. Officiating the services will be the Rev. Susan Pate Greenwood, the Rev. Lynda Ferguson-Allen, the Rev. Denise Connor Waters, and the Rev. Milton Hadley. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Croasdaile Methodist Retirement Home, Benevolent Fund, or a charity of one's choice. Howerton & Bryan Funeral Home, 919 682-5464, is assisting the Adams family.