Antonia "Toni" Adams

Born in McAllen, Texas, Toni (nee: Antonia Castillo) moved as a teenager with her family to Santa Monica, California.  After graduating from St. Monica high school, she worked as an operator for General Telephone, but her true calling lay years ahead.

In 1963, she met Don on a blind date and married him three months later.  Early in 1966, she moved with her husband and nine-month-old daughter to Lompoc, California.  There she gave birth to her son and, after he entered kindergarten, began her career in early childhood education.

In less than ten years with the Head Start program she rose from parent aide to teacher to site director, while earning an associate degree in the field. She then continued her career for ten years by singlehandedly conducting the city's popular preschool program, retiring in 1992. Throughout her retirement years she would encounter parents and students who fondly remembered and praised her as an excellent teacher and an important influence in their lives. With Spanish as her first language, she was able to effectively develop the language skills of all her preschool students.

During over fifty years as a faithful parishioner at La Purisima Catholic Church she served in numerous ministries, too many to list here. Among them was Community Kitchen, a program she organized and coordinated with her husband for twenty years. It recruited over fifty parish volunteers and served a weekly full hearty dinner to the poor of Lompoc.

On October 18th, 2021, Toni succumbed to heart failure at Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara. A funeral Mass for the repose of her soul will be celebrated November 18th, 10am, at La Purisima Catholic Church. It will be preceded by a Holy Rosary, November 17th, 5pm at the same church.

Toni is survived by her husband of 58 years, Donald, her daughter Karen, her son Michael, her daughter-in-law Yvette, brothers Robert and Raul, sister Carol, and numerous nephews and nieces.

Toni loved her family and friends dearly, a love expressed not so much in words as in action. And yes, she also held a special place in her heart for Rod Stewart.