Joel D. Adams

Joel Davis Adams, 42, was born in Washington DC on May 14, 1977 to Lois Elinor "Lea" Adams and Madison Davis "Dave" Lacy. Joel passed peacefully in Alexandria VA, from complications related to uncontrolled high blood pressure.
 
Joel grew up in Northwest DC, attending Lowell School, and John Eaton Elementary (DCPS) School. He and his mother lived in Santa Monica CA for four years, where Joel went to Roosevelt Elementary School. He returned to DC and finished at John Eaton before entering Saint Albans School, from which he graduated in 1995. Joel was a star middle- and long-distance runner, and earned a full scholarship to Cornell University in Ithaca, NY.
 
Joel was an assistant running coach at St. Albans and at Sidwell Friends School before entering the restaurant and hospitality industry, where he worked for the past decade. His 1998 marriage produced the beloved son Grant (14) and daughter Sloane (9) who were the light of his life.
 
In addition to his children and his mother, Joel is survived by his stepfather Wallace "Wally" Ashby of DC; devoted companion Julie Patrick, of Alexandria; former wife and dear friend Laura "Liz" Adams and her partner Jon Krolewicz; sister Anna Lacy of Seattle, WA; father, Dave Lacy of Lawrence KS; aunt Linda Adams Swallow of Hawaii; step brother Bryan Ashby of Clarksburg MD; and numerous members of the extended Adams-Ashby-Lacy family he once called his "fierce but tiny tribe." He will also be remembered and missed by a host of friends, fellows, and coworkers whose lives he touched deeply.
 

 

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