Ex-City Manager Adams dies

Bill Adams' nickname was coined by his grandson, Jason Braggs, who simply called him "Sir."

The name caught on. The Sunday school class that Adams taught called him "Sir."

Once a waitress at a restaurant asked him: "What would you like, sir?" leaving Adams' great-granddaughter Eden to wonder: "Why do so many people know Sir's name?"

Nicknames usually stick when they are appropriate, and Adams' case was no different. "Everyone looked up to Sir," his grandson recalled.

"He commanded a lot of respect from different kinds of people," Adams' wife, Nancy, said.

William E. "Bill" Adams, a 42-year Las Vegan and former Las Vegas city manager, died on Saturday at Valley Hospital Medical Center. He was 75.

The respect that Bill Adams commanded was widespread.

"I had him put up all of his plaques and awards on a wall in the workshop," his wife said. "But we ran out of room."

Adams did not let his achievements, nor the importance suggested by his nickname, go to his head. He made sure others got the respect they deserved, too.

"When he was city manager," Nancy recalled, "he knew the guys who drove the street sweepers by name. He would drive out to meet them in the middle of the night just to see how they were doing."

"Dad had a lot of respect for anyone who stood behind their convictions," Adams' daughter, Alice Koontz, said.

"Adams was very dedicated while he was manager," former Las Vegas Mayor Ron Lurie said. "While the city was expanding rapidly, he handled city affairs with great professionalism."

"He was a true professional," former City Hall spokesman Ken Bouton said. "Easy to get along with, so many people admired him and liked him."

Adams used playful language to communicate deeper messages.

"Once Bill went with his friend Larry Powell to a seminar for multicultural awareness," his wife recalled. "Well, Bill introduced Powell, who is black, to his friends with: 'I'd like you to meet my cousin Larry.' And they continued to refer to each other as cousins. What mattered for him was what was on the inside."

Adams was born Aug. 30, 1924, in Joplin, Mo. He served in the Army during World War II and the Korean War. He was director of building and public safety for the city of Las Vegas from 1960 to 1965. He moved to the city manager's office in 1965 and served as city manager from 1976 to 1977.

He left the city to work for Southwest Gas in 1978, where he remained until his retirement Jan. 1, 1989.

In addition to his wife, daughter and grandson, Adams is survived by a son, Ross W. Adams of San Diego; a sister, Cecilia Luke of Joplin, Mo.; another grandchild; and three great-grandchildren.

Services will be 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the First Christian Church, 101 S. Rancho Drive. Palm Mortuary Jones is handling arrangements.

The family requests donations to be sent to the First Christian Church, 101 S. Rancho Drive, Las Vegas NV, 89106.

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