Everglades City
John Gerald Adams passed over the river on March 31, 2025, his pain and suffering will be no more. Johnny was born in Miami, Florida on April 18, 1944. His parents were Mary Lois Franklin and Gerald Benton Adams. The family home was on the south side of the Miami River near the Musa Isle Indian Village. Growing up, he played with his young Indian friends on our property and at the village and they became life-long friends. Johnaki as they called him, accompanied them to the Green Corn Dance in the Big Cypress and was honored to witness their traditional ceremonies and knowledge.
Young John loved to roller skate and eventually an ice-skating rink was established in Miami and John learned to ice skate well. It was how he met his lovely wife to be Janice Rogers and they both were hired by the Ice Capades Company. Traveling with Ice Capades took him to many other countries. He had three months off in the Summer from the show. He loved to fish and go frogging in his airboat when he was home.
When the show was in Australia he was injured in a collision by another skater. Thus began his transition from a skater to the sound man for Ice Capades especially enjoying the live music for the show back then. His career with Ice Capades lasted thirty years and he was known by his skating friends as the Ice-Snake John.
John retired back to Florida in Everglades City where he could roam the swamps, fish, hunt and airboat with his family members and dear friend Gary Merritt. He was an outdoor character, how many people, if any, paid their accountant with pounds of frog legs? John did. He was a member of the Bears Den Camp in Big Cypress, which he loved dearly.
John eventually worked for the National Park Service on the Roads & Trails division in Big Cypress National Preserve until he retired. Operating swamp buggies and airboats and sharing the area with others was what he enjoyed the most among his duties.
John was preceded in death by his beloved parents, Jerry and Lois, sister Nancy Elaine (Layne) Adams Slough, his nephew Jonathan (JT) Travis Adams, nephew Phillip Christopher Slough and his former wife Janice Rogers Adams Smith.
John is survived by his son John Travis Adams and his wife Tanya Adams, grandson Andrew Travis Adams and his wife Brooke Adams, granddaughter Arianna Yvonne Adams Pence and husband Christian Pence, great grandson Wellington Lee Adams and great granddaughter Georgia Layne Adams, brother Franklin Adams and his wife Kathy Adams, niece Heather Alene Sweet, great nephew Michael Phillip Sweet, great niece Emily Adams Dahley, brother-in-law Phil Slough, niece Kristen Quinn, great niece Kaelyn Quinn Edwards, great-nephews James Quinn and Ian Quinn.
John had requested that there be no service on his behalf. The family will make a remembrance in honor of John for family and close friends at a later date. His ashes as he requested, will join the others in Big Cypress around the campfire.
Contributions to John’s memory may be made to the Friends of the Everglades atwww.everglades.org or 3727 SE Ocean Blvd Suite 200 Stuart, Fl. 34996.
