Julia Price Adams

Julia Price Adams, 93, passed away in Vero Beach, Florida, on October 11, 2025. Born in Whitestone, Queens, New York on April 11, 1932, she will be remembered as a loving and dedicated wife, mother, grandmother, aunt, and friend.

“Jude” or “Judy,” as she was affectionately known by her loved ones, grew up on her family’s farm near the coal-mining town of Manchester, Kentucky. She and her family attended the local Presbyterian church built on land donated by her grandfather. Unfortunately, only five years after relocating the family south from New York after carpentry and estate-building work became scarce during the Great Depression, Julia’s father succumbed to typhoid and pneumonia, leaving her Brooklyn-born mother to raise five children alone.

After graduating from Clay County High School, Julia went to work at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. She married Russell Adams, a US Air Force member who served during the Korean War, and they moved to Beale Air Force Base in Marysville, California, where their son Ray was born in 1955. They moved to Russell’s hometown of Dayton, Ohio, where Julia worked for the Foreign Technology Division of the US Air Force at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base as an Intelligence Research Specialist in the Imagery Department for 32 years. At the time of her retirement, Julia was one of only two women to reach the highest government service level possible in her division. Upon retirement, Julia and Russell moved to Vero Beach to be closer to Ray, Phyllis, and Nolan.

She was an avid gardener and world traveler. She was active in the Pilot Club, the Hibiscus Garden Club, attended the Community Church, and the First Baptist Church in Vero. Her father played the fiddle, and music became an integral part of Julia’s life from a very young age. She began taking piano lessons at the age of eight, walking two miles to the piano teacher’s home and paying her with a dozen eggs from her family’s farm. Her passion for music undoubtedly influenced Ray, a highly successful and accomplished musical performer and educator. Julia was a member of the Vero Beach Choral Society and the Treasure Coast Chorale.

Julia loved God and cherished her family. She is survived by her son Raymond; daughter-in-law Phyllis; and sister Helen Harris-Plank.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 53 years Russell; grandson Nolan; parents James Thomas Price and Irene Kathryn Williams; and siblings Ruth Caudill, Alice Price, and Jim Price.

Services will be held on Saturday, October 25th at First Baptist Church of Vero Beach, 2206 16th Ave, Vero Beach, FL, 32960, with visitation beginning at 1:00 PM and memorial service beginning at 2:00 PM.

In honor of Julia’s love of flowers, birds, and butterflies, flowers may be sent for all to enjoy during the service. Donations may be made to the Nolan Case Adams Scholarship in care of the Indian River Charter High School, 6055 College Lane, Vero Beach, FL, 32966.

Arrangements are by Thomas S. Lowther Funeral Home & Crematory, Vero Beach.