Peter Adams

Peter was a respected and successful businessman with his Estate Agency offices in Bideford and Torrington and it was through the Torrington office that he was invited to join the Interim Rotary Club of Torrington in 1970.

From early days he took an active role in the Clubs activities and projects , negotiating the purchase of the property in South Street to enable the club to establish the Bickford Centre Trust, likewise the purchase of Glen Tor in Villa Road to allow the club to set up the Torrington Abbeyfield Society and in concert with many other club members he worked tirelessly to try to establish a Polio immunisation programme for children in Jamaica ; more recently he took a leading role in the fundraising to enable Great Torrington School to apply to become a Specialist Sports College.

President of our Club in 1977/78 he then went on to take District Office culminating in his election as District Governor in 1990/91. Peter travelled widely both nationally and internationally on Rotary business and on a number of occasions he represented our District at the RI Council on Legislation in USA. As District Extension Officer he guided the Interim Rotary Clubs of Hatherleigh and Torbay Sunrise to Charter. He was awarded a Paul Harris Fellowship for his outstanding contribution to Rotary and the Community and in 2001 he received the “Four Avenues of Service Citation for Individual Rotarians” in recognition of his continuing work within Rotary.

Peter loved his Rotary and non more so than at Club level where for many years he maintained a one hundred percent attendance and during our meetings he could always be relied on for his enthusiastic support , sound advice, pertinent questions and amusing anecdotes.

Outside of Rotary he was a talented sportsman having been selected to represent the County at football and cricket but is was to his beloved Bideford, Littleham and Westward Ho cricket club that he gave seven decades of outstanding service, being a playing member from the age of fifteen through to his seventies and at various times acting as Club Secretary , Club Chairman and he was still Club President when he passed away.

An outstanding life of service and a person to whom our motto “Service above Self “ truly applies.

Rotarian Richard Smale