PORTLAND – Irene B. Adams, 96, a Grand Lady, died Monday, June 25, surrounded by her loving family.

She was born on a sunny Thursday, April 27, 1911, in New Limerick, one of 10 children to Donald and Mary (Montgomery) Burton. She was the last child of the 10 to go and be with the Lord.

She attended Ricker Classical Institute and at the end of her education at the age of 19, she married Wendell Shorey Adams on Oct. 17, 1930. They moved to Springfield, Ohio, where she worked at a cosmetic counter and as a hostess in a hotel dining room. Later they returned to Houlton, where all four children were born.

There she operated a tourist home and in 1950, she packed four kids into a woody station wagon and headed south to Portland. She started working multiple jobs in local restaurants and then purchased and operated an apartment house. She worked at the Cumberland Club for 15 years, the last nine as the first woman general manager.

In 1969, she headed back to Houlton with her son and his family, as they took over ownership of the Northland Hotel. In 1979, she returned to Portland, moving into Northfield Green. For the past two years, she had been residing at Seaside in Portland.

She became involved with the foster grandparent program in 1991, assisting teachers at the Riverton School. She remained active in the program until she was 92 years old. In 2002, she was presented the “Others” award for her extraordinary spirit of services to others, by Barbara Bush. She was a member of the Club Managers Association, Zonta Club and County Girls of Houlton.

She is survived by a daughter, Barbara Libby, and her husband, Donald, of Brownfield; a son, Gary Adams, and his wife, Carole, of Lewiston; a daughter, Brenda Collins, and her husband, Ronald, of The Villages, Fla.; and a daughter, Doreen Earley, and her husband, Joseph, of Windham.

She was a special grandmother to nine grandchildren; three grandchildren who predeceased her; 25 great-grandchildren; three great-great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.