Charles C. “Chuck” Adams Jr. passed away due to heart complications during search and rescue training at the Spring Arbor Township Fire Station on January 2, 2016. He was born on February 19, 1968, in Jackson, Michigan. Chuck and Sue Marie Scarpino were united in marriage on October 1, 1994. Chuck is survived by his loving and devoted wife, Sue Adams, a sergeant with the Spring Arbor Township Police and a member of the Spring Arbor Township Fire Department. Chuck and Sue shared their home and love with their Chesapeake Bay retriever, Nova, and German shorthair, Lacey.

Chuck was a 1986 graduate of Jackson County Parma Western High School and received his Bachelor of Science in criminal justice from Ferris State University. He had a long and distinguished career in law enforcement serving the residents of South Central Michigan. Chuck joined the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, first as a reserve officer, then as a full-time road patrol deputy with additional duties as a traffic accident reconstructionist. He was promoted to sergeant in 2001. Chuck was well-known and respected in the law enforcement community for the time and energy he devoted to his profession as an instructor of law enforcement policies and tactics. In 2011, after 25 years, Chuck retired from Jackson County Sheriff’s Department. He continued serving others as director of safety and security for Jackson Community College. Chuck was an active member of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department Alert/Homeland Security team, as well as the use of force coordinator for the Southern Michigan Law Enforcement Training Consortium. He was serving as part-time patrol officer with the Spring Arbor Township Police Department and as a court officer.

A credentialed instructor with the National Rifle Association, Chuck trained citizens on the safety and appropriate use of firearms. With an uncommon talent for helping young people, Chuck was a hunter education recreational safety instructor for the Law Enforcement Division of the Department of Natural Resources. Chuck enjoyed an active membership in the Red Fox Sportsman’s Club, where he served as vice president and secretary; the Free and Accepted Masons; Jackson Lodge 17; and the Fraternal Order of Eagles Nest #4046. He spent time as an assistant football coach at both Lumen Christi and Hanover Horton High Schools in Jackson, Michigan.

After years of serving in law enforcement, Chuck decided to pursue a career in the fire service in 2015. Chuck was a member of the Spring Arbor Township Fire Department. Although his time in the fire service was short, his passing has changed some of the ways training is approached in Jackson County for the better. Chuck’s presence will be felt for many years to come.