Cook, reader, world traveler, passionate animal lover

From the Hill Funeral Home Website

Audrey Mary Adams, 89, passed away peacefully on February 15, after a short illness. She was a resident of South County Nursing Home in South Kingstown. 

Audrey was born on May 17, 1934, to her parents Calvert H. and Lenora E. Penfold (Murphy) in Queens, N.Y. She resided in Great Neck, N.Y., worked in Manhattan, then moved to Ocala, Fla., in 1973 to be near family. 

Audrey was passionate about many things. She grew up traveling around the United States as a young girl with her family’s construction firm, where her love of travel was born. In her twenties, she bought a copy of “Europe on Two Dollars a Day.” She and a friend saved up to spend six months in Europe traveling to every country they could visit. She always spoke fondly about her time on that trip. She was also a very accomplished home cook, making her way through Julia Child’s The French Chef Cookbook. She was a prolific reader; her home was always full of books. She transitioned seamlessly to the digital age, burning through several Kindles along the way. Most importantly, Audrey was a lifelong animal lover. She loved her horse, Irish; but that love was not to be matched by her affection for her many dogs, especially her golden retrievers, Copper and Canyon. She was an ardent supporter of no-kill animal shelters and fostered several dogs over the years. 

In her later years, she moved to Rhode Island to live with her son Kerry and daughter-in-law Mary Beth. Living there, Audrey flourished; she was happy to live back up in the Northeast again and quickly established a group of friends with whom she enjoyed going to lunch, dinners, and movies. Over the years of living with her son, she was surrounded by loving neighbors and friends in Potowomut. It was those friendships and connections that gave Audrey such an excellent quality of life.

She became a resident of South County Nursing Home in her last year of life and was cared for lovingly by the staff there. They made her feel at home and part of yet another loving community. 

Audrey was predeceased by her parents Calvert and Lenora, and her brother Jerry. She is survived by her son, Kerry, and daughter-in-law Mary Beth Adams. 

Visitation will be held on Wednesday February 21, from 4 to 6 p.m. at Hill Funeral Home, 822 Main St, East Greenwich. The funeral and burial service will be private. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Potter League for Animals in Middletown.