| | Gusta Lee Adams 
WINTER HAVEN -- Mrs. Gusta Lee Adams and her husband, William "Bill" Adams, worked together to build what was at one time, one of the largest citrus nurseries in the world.
"She did accounts payables -- she did it all. She would sell or do whatever. She did it all, and they were inseparable," said her daughter, Wanda Imber of Winter Haven.
The retired co-owner of Adams Citrus Nursery died of lung failure Tuesday (April 25, 2006) in Winter Haven. She was 79.
Born in Rickman, Tenn., on Nov. 19, 1926, she came to Winter Haven from Cookeville, Tenn., in 1951.
After marrying Bill Adams in 1969, Mrs. Adams began working at the citrus nursery that Mr. Adams' father had started in the mid-1920s, and that her husband had been working for since the 1940s.
"They sold all the property last year. It was a 93-year-old nursery. They were going to retire and take it easy and travel and then my mom's health got so bad," Imber said.
She described her mother as a family-oriented, social lady who enjoyed her friends and the parties that she attended at the Lake Region Yacht and Country Club, where she was belonged to the Nine Holers Club.
In their retirement, the couple had recently sold their home and downsized to a much smaller house. "She got everything in here, plus more, and she had just furnished the house and never got to show it off. Decorating was her niche," Imber said.
Mrs. Adams is survived by her husband, William "Bill" Adams; daughters, Brenda Johnson, Clearwater, Wanda Imber, Livia Livingston, both of Winter Haven; stepsons, Steven Adams, Gainesville, Alan Adams, Haines City; brothers, Johnny Lee, Joe Lee, Don Lee, all of Lakeland, Douglas Lee, Roswell, Ga.; sister, Edyth Lee, Winter Haven; seven grandchildren; four great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at Oak Ridge Funeral Care, 2425 W. Havendale Blvd. Services will follow at noon at the funeral home chapel.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Gusta Lee Adams Scholarship Fund at All Saints Academy, 5001 State Road 540 W., Winter Haven, FL 33880. By Rhonda Gentle
The Ledger
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