JACQUELINE COTNER ADRION of AMHERST, February 1, 1946 – November 28, 2020
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Jacqueline (Jackie) Cotner Adrion, 74, passed away unexpectedly on November 28, 2020 at her home in Amherst, Massachusetts. She was born on February 1, 1946 in Ithaca, NY to the late Walter Wendell Cotner and the late Coral Jack Cotner.Jackie grew up in Ithaca, NY. She graduated from Ithaca High School in 1963. After high school she attended several colleges, including SUNY Cortland and Ithaca College, and graduated from Western Connecticut University in Danbury CT in 1969 where she received a degree in education. She attended graduate school at The University of Texas Austin where she received a master’s degree in Special Education in 1970. She went on to have a long teaching career in New York, Texas, Oregon, and Massachusetts. She retired from Belchertown Massachusetts Public Schools in 2008, receiving recognition for distinguished service from the Massachusetts Teacher’s Association, among other commendations from state and federal representatives.
Jackie married William Richards (Rick) Adrion in 1971 in Ithaca, NY. They were happily married for 49 years. Rick retired in 2011 from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and remains active as a Professor Emeritus of Computer Science. During their marriage, they had the opportunity to live in Texas, Oregon, Virginia, California, France, and Massachusetts and to travel extensively in 48 states of the U.S., Europe, and the Caribbean.
Jackie will always be remembered as incredibly kind, thoughtful and friendly. She was an excellent cook and baker (even if known to be a bit of a perfectionist in the kitchen) and loved to research recipes and share them with family and friends. Her daughters have many cherished memories of baking with their mom. Jackie was a great supporter of her daughters’ athletic endeavors. She held various volunteer roles with the Amherst Tritons Swim Team throughout the 1980s and 90s, and attended every junior high and high school swimming, cross-country and track meet her daughters competed in (as well as many college meets). Jackie was always there cheering the teams on, often bringing along a big batch of homemade oatmeal chocolate chip cookies for a post-meet reward.
Jackie was preceded in death by her parents and her brother Calvin Buchanan Cotner.
Jackie is survived by her spouse, Rick of Amherst, MA; daughters, Carrie Serra and her husband Marc, of Tucson, Arizona; and Emily Adrion and her partner Joseph Casillo of Edinburgh, Scotland; and two grandsons, Taylor Serra and Cameron Serra of Tucson, AZ.
Due to the COVID pandemic, there will a private family interment. A memorial service is planned for spring of 2021.
Jackie viewed cooking and baking for others as an expression of love, so in lieu of flowers the family requests memorial donations be made to feed those in need through Action Against Hunger at: https://www.actionagainsthunger.org/. Condolences may be left on Jacqueline (Jackie) Cotner Adrion’s online guest book at [website URL].