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Michael J. Adam
Lifelong Sag Harbor resident Michael J. Adam died at Southampton Hospital on Saturday, April 21. He was 61.
Born on November 13, 1950, to William and Dorothy Adam, both of whom predeceased him, Mr. Adam attended St. Andrew’s School in Sag Harbor and graduated from Pierson High School in 1968. He was a mason and general handyman.
A veteran of the U.S. Navy, Mr. Adam was a member of the American Legion in Sag Harbor. An avid golfer, he was at one time a member of the Sag Harbor Golf Club and the Tuesday night men’s bowling league for 25 years. He also loved playing softball and sailing with friends.
According to survivors, Mr. Adam had friends who remained constant throughout his life, those who gave him funny nicknames like “Mike the Spike” and “Cadillac Mason,” to name a few.
His friend Bill Horn recalled a time when Mr. Adam, a music aficionado, stood up at a concert at Belmont Racetrack and jammed on his harmonica when Pure Prairie League was on stage.
In his 30s, Mr. Adam adopted a dog from the shelter, a German shorthaired pointer, that he named Spike. Years later, the dog was injured in an accident and, instead of putting him down, Mr. Adam told the veterinarian to “remove the leg. I’m not losing my dog.” From then on, Mr. Adam became known around town as the guy with the three-legged dog. At the beach, Spike would fly into the bay and retrieve the perfect rock and dump it at his owner’s feet.
Lifelong friend Dan Sabloski remembered Mr. Adam as a modern day Good Samaritan. “As a teenager, Mike started out as a mechanic,” he said. “He could fix anything on those old cars. There was a time before cell phones, if you were broken down on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere, you were stuck.
“Mike would always have extra stuff in his car: wrenches, clamps, you name it,” Mr. Sabloski continued. “He’d stop if he knew you or not—it didn’t matter to him. He’d look under the hood, crawl underneath and get to work on it. Mike was a character. He’d get them back on the road!
“The thing was he wouldn’t take a dime for it. It’s probably one of the reasons he was always late for everything.”
Mr. Adam loved working with his hands, whether it was as a mason installing a chimney or walkway, or as a musician playing a song on his guitar or harmonica, according to survivors. He was known for his appreciation of comedy and kept his friends and family laughing throughout his life.
Mr. Adam is survived by two brothers, William F. Adam II of Clifton Park and Terence J. Adam and his wife Sharon of Sag Harbor; and a sister, Kathy Adam Grodski and her husband Richie of Southampton; and eight nieces and nephews.
Visitation was on Wednesday, April 25, at the Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in Sag Harbor. A funeral Mass was held on Thursday, April 26, at St. Andrew’s Church in Sag Harbor.
Memorial donations may be made to the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons, P.O. Box 901, Wainscott, NY, 11975, or East End Hospice, P.O. Box 1048, Westhampton Beach, NY, 11978.
on Apr 26, 2012