Jolene Adair passed away on Monday, April 11, 2016, at her home in Idaho Falls, Idaho. She was surrounded by her children and her grandchildren and the precious hospice nurses who have been caring for her during her valiant battle with cancer.

Jolene was born December 12, 1935, at St. Mary's Hospital in Enid, Oklahoma. She was the second child and only daughter of Henry H. and Julilah O. Brown Summers (who were always known as Jack and Jo). Jolene had one brother named Henry (always known as Jack or Junior) who was six years older than she was.

Jolene grew up in a loving home (on Emerson Street) that had been built by her father and her Uncle Everett Summers. They had a huge garden, fruit trees, and a cow for milk and butter. Her happiest childhood memories revolved around that sweet and loving home where she sat in her cherry tree and ate cherries in the sunshine, walked around on stilts her father made for her, rode a pony that belonged to a close neighbor, ate peas out of the garden while lady bugs crawled on her arms, and swam in a lake near her home. She went to the movies on Saturday afternoons and then ate hamburgers at the park with her family.

She was blessed to live with parents who adored each other and spoke lovingly and patiently to each other and to their two children.
Jolene entered first grade in 1941 just as the war started with the bombing of Pearl Harbor. She was five years old and she didn't understand why she was sent home from school to make room for all of the military children whose fathers had been sent to the U.S. Air Force Base in Enid. She was among the youngest, so she was sent home to make room for all of the older children. She thought she had finished school and would never have to go back…which was great news to her!

Jolene moved to Clovis, New Mexico, when she was twelve. She graduated from Clovis High School in 1953, and married her high school sweetheart (John Eugene Gaume) on December 5th of that year. They moved to Las Cruces, New Mexico, to attend New Mexico State University.

Jolene and Gene had three children: Pamela Sue in 1955, Deborah Lyn in 1956, and their son Johnie Kit who was born in 1959. They divorced in 1962.

Jolene moved her children to Tucson, Arizona, where they all lived with her parents while she attended business college. They lived in Tucson for three years and then moved back home to Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Jolene worked in the professional world for 38 years as a legal secretary for several law firms, and as the secretary for the city attorney. Her last ten working years were devoted to serving women who were victims of domestic abuse. She wrote grants and was instrumental in the building of the Dove Center in St. George, Utah, where she served as the director until she retired in 2001. She was honored by the city for her devoted efforts to educate the police force, train the community, and secure help for battered women and children.


She was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints where she was faithful in her many callings. She served for several years as an ordinance worker at the Idaho Falls Temple. She spent countless hours researching family history and traveling to cemeteries to find information to share with her family.
Jolene was preceded in death by her parents, her brother, and two precious granddaughters.


She married Warren Adair in 1968, but they were later divorced.
She is survived by her three children: Pamela Sue Gaume Garrett (Paul) from Egin, Idaho; Deborah Lyn Gaume Nyborg (Bruce) from Idaho Falls, Idaho, and J. Kit Gaume (Melody Morrow) from Pocatello, Idaho. 18 grandchildren: Rylee, Kassie, Tessa, Adam, Tyson, Ali, Kimberly, Boyd, Keri, Stephanie, Kade, Evan, Ashley, Desi, Nikelle, Kinnsi, Zachary, and Ben; and 33 great grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 16, at the Rexburg 3rd Ward Chapel, 345 South 3rd West. The family will receive friends Saturday from 10:00 to 10:45 a.m. at the church prior to services. Interment will be in the Wilford Cemetery under the direction of Flamm Funeral Home.