The Shenandoah Community Foundation lost two of its shining stars and great supporters late in 2021 with the deaths of Warren B. French, Jr. and John Adamson. With heavy hearts and sincere gratitude, we want to pay tribute to their significant contributions and extend our deepest sympathy to their families.
Warren B. French, Jr.
Warren was, in a very real sense, the founder of the Shenandoah Community Foundation. He learned about the concept of a community foundation and how well it worked in other areas and believed it would be an enormous benefit for helping both donors and nonprofits here in Shenandoah County. In 1999, he was instrumental in gathering together a planning committee and initial board to make his vision become a reality. (See HERE for more about the SCF founding).
Pat and Warren French at 20th anniversary banquet
Throughout the years, Warren maintained his interest in the Foundation and attended all of its key events. At the organization’s 20th anniversary event, Warren and Pat were recognized for their generosity in creating the first donor-advised fund, for making substantial donations that benefitted Shenandoah County nonprofit organizaions, and for Warren’s visionary role as an honorary director of the organization.
Warren’s death at age 98 on November 4, 2021 brought tributes from around the world for his leadership in the global telecommunications industry, local and national politics, and innumerable civic and charitable organizations. The seeds that he planted in creating the Shenandoah Community Foundation will bear fruit for generations to come, and we are enormously grateful for his many contributions.
John H. Adamson III
John served on the board of directors for the Shenandoah Community Foundation for twelve years, between 2009-2020, in multiple capacities. His passionate love for this community, his knowledge of finances and accounting, his keen intelligence, and his wonderful sense of humor were all vital to the significant growth of the organization that took place during his tenure. He was benevolent with his time and resources and highly esteemed by all members of the Board. John was both an optimist and a problem-solver, and his exuberance for the people and history of Shenandoah County and the work of the Foundation touched us all. One of his primary interests was the Historic Barns of Shenandoah County project, sponsored by the Shenandoah County Historical Society. The cover of our 2018 annual report featured one of his beautiful photographs of a local barn, shown below.
John’s sudden and untimely death of natural causes on November 19, 2021, has left a hole in our hearts but we are grateful for having worked with him to make our community a better place.
