From Nunavut DM to head of United Church

Kuujjuamiut turned out in great numbers at St. Stephen’s Anglican Church Sept. 9 to say goodbye to a well-respected elder, Tommy “Spike” Adams, 74.

Last Wednesday afternoon, a vehicle collision on Kuujjuaq’s Aqpik Road claimed his life.

Adams was driving to pick up his wife, who was berry-picking, when his truck collided with another truck carrying road construction workers back to Kuujjuaq.

The three-man crew had been working in a gravel pit at the end of the road leading north out of Kuujjuaq.

One of the three workers suffered a broken leg and was medevaced to Montreal. The other two sustained injuries but remained in Kuujjuaq.

Police say the collision was an accident.

Adams received the nickname “Spike” from U.S. soldiers stationed in Kuujjuaq during the 1940s.

For 18 years, Adams had served as a community reporter with CBC North in Kuujjuaq.

“Throughout his life, Tommy “Spike” Adams was an active member of the community: from the early days of the recreation committee all the way up to him being a community reporter for CBC Tuttavik until his sudden death,” said Kuujjuaq Mayor Larry Watt.

“It showed that he cared for the community, and I do appreciate that, especially from an elder who was there when Kuujjuaq was relocated from Old Fort Chimo. We have just lost an important member of the community but we shall continue by always keeping in mind the contributions of our elders.”

At Adams’s funeral on Saturday, Christine Nakoolak, Sandy Gordon and Sen. Willie Adams all offered eulogies in memory of their relative, role model and friend.