On August 15, 2021 at 4:25pm, I said goodbye to my own personal wonder woman of a mom.

My mom, Terry Adame, was diagnosed with a rare neurological disease that she had known about since her early twenties. This is a disease that could have manifested itself in so many different ways but, unfortunately, her version was the most severe—the version only 3% of those diagnosed suffer from.


I had just moved to Boston in late 2014 when I received a call that my mom had been starting to experience new symptoms. The next six years were a slow—but also too fast—decline. We almost lost her in June 2019. She spent 18 days in the ICU. Family flew in because the doctors told us she would not survive. But she did. She fought for her life and gave us an extra two years of seeing her smile, experiencing her joy, and witnessing her faith firsthand. Until her very last breath, her focus was on the rest of us. She hadn’t been able to talk for a long time but she mouthed “I love you” every time she could.

God was kind and she had the most peaceful death. She was surrounded by my dad, Guillermo—her husband of 34 years; her three children—myself, Rachel, and Guillermo; her oldest sister Peggy and her husband, Fred; her brother Paul; her sister Cathy and her daughter, Taylor. Shelley Metten was also there as a close family friend and mentor to my mom for many years.

My mom was the most incredible woman. She made the decision to follow Jesus at 17 and was baptized in the Boston Church of Christ on May 22, 1983. In January 1987, she answered God’s call and left home and family to move to India to be a part of the Bombay mission team. She married my dad in August 1987 and served in India for six years. She gave her heart and soul to the women there and impacted so many, always pointing people to Jesus. She had three children on the mission field, many near death experiences, planted churches, and impacted the eternity of thousands through her love and faith. Once their time in India was over, my parents moved our family to San Diego, California where my mom had constantly been giving her heart for almost three decades.


To know my mom was to know the best of the best. It was to know love without boundaries. It was to know the greatest and most giving servant. It was to know incredible strength and bravery. It was to know unwavering faith. It was to know joy in the midst of deep suffering. It was to know the best and most tangible example of a daughter of God, wife, mother, nana, sister, aunt, and friend.

My mom has left this earth. It’s going to take a long time—if not forever—for us to get used to living on this earth without her. While we are thankful she is no longer suffering, we miss her with every piece of our broken hearts.

Mom, you were victorious. You lived a life worthy of imitation by all. You finished your race and I know you’re sitting in your room in heaven, prepared by God, decked out in memorabilia of Michigan sports and every New England sports team waiting for us to join you one day. Every time I see the color pink, I will think of you. Every time I see the Red Sox or Patriots on, I will think of you. Every time I decorate the house for the holidays, I will think of you. In everything I do, you will be forever in my heart.

Your time came sooner than any of us wanted and though our hearts are shattered, we are grateful you are no longer in pain and in the arms of God. I hope everyone is lucky enough to have a Terry Adame in their life.

– Kaitlyn Adame on behalf of the Adame Family

“Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all” – Proverbs 31:29

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” – 1 Corinthians 2:9 NLT

Terry’s Celebration of Life will be held October 2, 2021 at 6 pm. Click here for the livestream.