GREAT FALLS - Margaret E. Adams, 84, died Thursday, February 24, in Great Falls.
Margaret asked that no memorial service be held.
Margaret, daughter of Frank Leslie Adams and Fannie Mae Judkins, was raised with her seven siblings in Havre. She graduated from Northern Montana College in Havre.
After teaching sixth-grade students in Havre for several years, she moved to Great Falls in 1957 and began teaching at Lincoln Elementary. She gained her master's degree in administration from
the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley. Her career included work as an elementary consultant, then as principal of Lincoln. After her
move to principal of Lewis and Clark Elementary, she stayed in administration until her retirement.
Working in education and preserving our natural environment were her great loves. Her career and volunteer work reflected that dedication to future generations of Montanans.
Margaret's avocation as a longtime environmentalist was recognized in 2000, when she was awarded the Montana Wilderness Association Founder's Award for her role as an educator and administrator who "validated the concept of conservation and wilderness preservation."
She helped found the Montana Wilderness Association, being one of 10 people attending the first meeting in Great Falls in 1958. She was the president of the Montana Audubon Society in 1989-1990 and was president and historian for the Upper Missouri Breaks Audubon Society. She also co-founded the Great Falls Conservation Council. Margaret's volunteer work extended to the field of education, where she served with the Montana Education Association and with the Cascade County Historical Society.
Survivors include her sister, Patricia Peppenger in Hardin; brother, Ben Adams in Virginia; and many nieces and nephews in Montana, Alaska, Virginia and California.
Memorials in her honor may be made to the Cascade County Historical Society, 1400 First Ave. N., Great Falls, MT 59401.
