Titans co-owner Nancy Neville Adams dies at age 84

Published: Feb 02, 2009 at 09:15 AM

HOUSTON -- Nancy Neville Adams, co-owner of the Tennessee Titans along with husband Bud Adams, has died. She was 84.

The Titans announced that she died Sunday night in Houston, but didn't release the cause.

Nancy Adams, who is also the vice chair of the Titans' board, was married to Bud for 62 years. She continued to live in Houston after the Oilers relocated to Tennessee and became the Titans.

"I am deeply saddened to report that following a brief illness, I have lost my beloved wife of 62 years, Nancy," Bud Adams said in a statement released by the team Monday. "She was the love of my life, and we shared so many great memories together. I will miss her greatly but know how lucky we were to have each other's company for so long."

Active in charitable efforts, Nancy Adams and her husband established the Titans Foundation in 1999 with an opening gift of $500,000. More recently, the couple donated $500,000 to the Baptist Hospital of Nashville to fund an expansion project.

They've often helped out financially in the wake of natural disasters, contributing $100,000 after Tropical Storm Allison hit Houston in 2001 and teaming with the NFL to donate $200,000 following a 1998 tornado in Nashville.

Nancy Adams was born in Mississippi and attended the University of Kansas, where she met her husband. Along with Bud, she is survived by daughters Susie Smith and Amy Strunk and seven grandchildren. A son, Kenneth Stanley Adams, III, is deceased.

A memorial service is scheduled for Thursday at River Oaks Baptist Church in Houston. A private entombment will be held before the memorial service.

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