Hugh "Bill" William Adams, Jr.

Hugh William Adams, Jr. ("Bill"), died peacefully on 11/7/2026 at the age of 78 in Sartell, MN. He lived in upstate New York until recently when he was moved to Minnesota by his son and daughter-in-law so that he could be with his family at the end of his life.

He was born on August 26th, 1948, in Peoria, IL to Hugh William Adams Sr. and Florence (Pendola) Adams. He was an only child. 

Bill was valedictorian of his high school and went onto study at Aurora College. Following graduation, he attended the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign where he completed his graduate studies in computer science. 

He married Deanna Helen Maier in May of 1977. He and Deanna had two children, Sarah Louise Baia and Hugh William Adams III. 

Bill had a brilliant career in computer science. He was a senior programmer at Bally-Midway with a multitude of arcade games to his credit including Tron and Satan's Hollow. While working at Midway, he was also able to build a beautiful 4800 square foot home in Plano, IL, a project that took a full 7 years to complete. He ultimately made the difficult decision to move his family to New Hampshire where he worked at Digital to help design some of the first home personal computers. In 1990, he again moved, this time to upstate NY where he worked at IBM research in Yorktown Heights.

He stayed at IBM for over a decade before becoming a private contractor where he was involved in designing odds tables for video poker machines in Atlantic City until he retired 6 years ago. 

Bill was a man of high integrity who valued family and hard work. The needs of his family came before his own. His brilliance, kindness, selflessness and generosity were unwavering even in the throes of illness. 

Bill's wife Deanna preceded him in death, passing away in July 2011. He is survived by his daughter Sarah Baia, his son Hugh Adams III (Maria), Sarah's children- Jackson Merritt and Deanna Baia, and Hugh's son Hugh "William" Adams IV.

A visitation will be held on Tuesday, November 17, 2026 from 4:00 - 7:00 P.M. at Beverage Family Funeral Home, 104 Terry St. Sandwich, IL 60548. A funeral mass will be held next day, Wednesday, November 18, 2026 at 10:00 A.M. at St. Mary's Catholic Church, 901 N. Center St. Plano, IL 60545. Burial will follow out to St. Patrick's Catholic Cemetery in Bristol, IL. Arrangements were entrusted to Beverage Family Funeral Home. Online condolences may be made at www.beveragefamilyfh.com