Dr. Edward Franklin Adams' Obituary
Annapolis resident Dr Edward Franklin Adams passed away on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, at his home in Heritage Harbour. He was 89 years old.
He was born in Washington, DC, on October 15, 1936, to parents Albert Adams and Mary Steele. He attended Bladensburg High School, University of Maryland, and graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1962 with a PhD in Chemical Engineering. He had put himself through college and bought an Austin Healey sports car.
Edward began his career at Corning Glass Works, Corning, NY, where he held positions in research, project management, and plant engineering until 1977. He obtained a U.S. Patent in 1970 for Cooling A Sintered Refractory Containing Unstabilized Zirconia Through a Disruptive Crystal Phase Inversion. Edward moved his family to Lancaster, Ohio, in 1977 where he became Vice President of Research and Development for Anchor Hocking Corporation until 1983. After leaving Anchor Hocking, he became president and principal stockholder in the Mid Atlantic Business Investment Group in Rockville, MD. After moving to Annapolis, Edward became a financial advisor for First Financial Group where he worked from his home office until his retirement in 2017.
He married Roberta Tilley in October 1964 and they had three children: Christine, Brian, and Heather. After his divorce, he met Philip Tawes in 1993, whom he married in 2015. Ed is survived by his spouses, children, and grandchildren Andrew, Aubrey, Julianna, Jax, Austin, Jose, Violet, and Sadie; and four nieces.
Ed enjoyed fishing and boating, cooking, and gardening. He collected moss from up and down the Atlantic seaboard to use in his gardens. He was a member of the Chesapeake Squares square dance club in Baltimore, attending annual dance conventions in cities around the country. He belonged to the Unitarian Universalist Church of Annapolis for 25 years where he helped with financial matters and the Welcoming Congregation program. He was a board member of the Friends of Helen Avalynne Tawes Garden in Annapolis and the Annapolis Opera. In the last few years of his life, he developed Dr Frank’s Pain Relief Ointment in his garage which became popular with family and friends. He was precise in facts, careful in speech, and conservative in manner.
A Celebration of Life will be held at Lasting Tributes funeral home 814 Bestgate Road, Annapolis, MD 21401 on Friday, April 17, 2026, 2-5 pm.
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