John Christopher Adkins' Obituary
CORNELIUS-John Christopher (Chris) Adkins, 57, died June 28, 2018. He was born on March 4, 1961 in Wayne County, WV to Mary Sue Sayre Street and the late William Allen Adkins.
He is survived by his mother, Mary Sue Street of Knoxville, TN, brothers, William Nathan Adkins, wife Lavi and Mark Robert Adkins, fiancé Janet Robinson, all of Cornelius, nephew, Tyler and nieces, Nadia, Ashley and Shayna.
Chris was an outstanding high school student athlete growing up outside of Huntington, WV. Chris excelled in football and basketball but could play any sport well. He held the WV state scoring record for total points scored in a football season for 25 years, until the record was broken by NFL Hall of Famer Randy Moss. Chris was awarded High School All-American honors in both football and basketball. He averaged just over 33 points a game in basketball his senior year at Ceredo-Kenova High School, where he transferred to his senior year from Buffalo High School. He shared the WV co-player of the year award in football with Curt Warner, a College Hall of Famer and NFL pro bowl running back. Warner played at Penn State and the Seattle Seahawks. Chris was recruited by every major college on the east coast. His academic record was also remarkable. He graduated with a 4.0 average and near the top of class in 1979. His first love was basketball and although he was 6’4’’ and had a 37” vertical leap, everyone wanted him to play football. After a short time at hometown Marshall University, Chris decided to leave school and head to Oklahoma to work a look for a new start.
After a brief time out west, Chris settled in Orlando, Florida for nearly a decade. He enrolled at ITT Technical College and graduated first in his class with a degree in electrical engineering. He then moved to Washington D.C. to begin a job installing fiber optics in the World Bank. He was then recruited to come work with his twin brothers Will and Mark in the land development business. Chris had a very productive career with Waterfront Group until a series of seizures forced him to semi-retire from the land business. His last 4 years was spent working at a development in Banner Elk, North Carolina named The Lodges at Eagles Nest. Chris held many different jobs there and was instrumental in bringing the development back to life.
Chris loved his family, (especially his nieces and nephew Shayna, Nadia, Ashley and Tyler), his friends from Buffalo and C-K high schools, his best friend Kevin Fisher and the many friends he made along the way. Chris lost his beloved Rhodesian Ridgeback mix dog, Daisy, about a month before his passing. Daisy was a constant companion for Chris for 14 years. They are now reunited in Heaven. Rest in Peace my Brother!
Memorials may be made to Camp New Hope (http://www.campnewhopenc.com/) of Lake Norman Humane (lakenormanhumane.org).
A funeral service will be held at 3 PM Sunday, July 1 in the chapel of James Funeral Home. Visitation will be 2-3 prior to the service. He will be laid to rest at Mt. Pleasant Memorial Park, Mt. Pleasant, SC at 12:00 Tuesday, July 3.
James Funeral Home of Huntersville is serving the family. www.jamesfuneralhomeLKN.com
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