Newberg Graphic Online

Animal Shelter Friends founder to step down

Service — Darlyn Adams to celebrate new shelter building with an extended vacation

• By: David Sale  
• Published: 11/17/2009 11:21:26 AM

Photo By: Gary AllenDarlyn Adams

   “I never knew it would take this long,” said retiree Darlyn Adams of her decade-long quest to help Newberg’s stray dogs and cats.
   Upon moving to Newberg from Ashland, the pet-loving Adams said she was appalled at the cramped conditions at Newberg’s animal shelter, and resolved to create a new one.
   Now that goal is within sight, but — like Moses and the Promised Land — Adams will not be leading the way for the final steps.
   “My goal, when I moved to town, was to find something to do,” Adams said of her decision to champion this cause. “I figured it would take me a few years — in fact, it’s been almost a seven-days-a-week job talking to city officials and local service groups. It’s time for me to take a break.”
   Adams was also the victim of a pair of personal losses in the past year, with the death of her husband Paul and their beloved dog Trixee, a shelter-rescued Schnauzer mix.
   While Adams is making plans for a patio and flagpole at the new shelter site on Sandoz Road to commemorate her loved ones, she has stepped down as the president of the Friends of the Newberg Animal Shelter in order to take a long vacation.
   “I’m headed to Tucson, Ariz., for the holidays, and passing through Southern California,” she said. “Then Washington, D.C., North Carolina and Maryland — and next fall, I’m headed to Egypt. I’m going to take a cruise up the Nile and visit El Alamein, where my husband was stationed during his service in World War II.”
   The Animal Shelter Friends will hold elections in December to choose a new president, and Adams has confidence in the board of directors to manage the group in her absence.
   “It’s helping me cope with being on my own,” she said of her recent wanderlust. “I plan to stay in  Newberg — it’s a great city and people here have shown a real appreciation for my efforts — but I won’t be around frequently enough to actively participate in leading the shelter friends.”
   With permit approval for the building now pending from the county, Adams added: “I think I’m going out on top.”

  (log in to rate)