Working girl

One neighbor proves age is just a number by finding employment at 70

While most have planned their retirement by 70, Preston Hollow resident Lindalyn Bennett Adams was just getting started when she reached her seventh decade in March 2001.

She began working for a paycheck for the first time, as a senior officer with the Baylor Health Care System Foundation. This was not Adams’s first experience at Baylor — she was one of the original members of the foundation’s board of directors in 1978. When Boone Powell Sr., CEO at the time, asked her to join the board, she tried to tell him she was too busy. He simply said, “I’ll see you Thursday.”

As a volunteer board member, Adams was part of a small group that started the Celebrating Women luncheon in 2000 to help in the fight against breast cancer. Her husband, Reuben Adams M.D., long-time chief of obstetrics and gynecology at Baylor University Medical Center, passed away a month before that very first luncheon on September 10, 2000 — their 51st wedding anniversary.

Sitting at that luncheon, Adams remembered her own breast cancer experience in 1982, and she thought to herself, “I think I will always be a part of this.” And, a part of the yearly luncheon she became; the first year as a volunteer, and then as a staff member from that point on. She says, “Working with this luncheon came natural to me.”

The foundation recognized what they had in Adams when they first approached her to become part of their staff in 2001. With her extensive background working with civic organizations, her experiences enabled her to find celebrity speakers and qualified people to chair the luncheon, which is the key to its success.

“It makes a difference to find a chair-

Our Neighborhood

By LAUREN LAW

person who is capable and has a feeling for how breast cancer should be conquered and finding someone who knows how to raise money,” Adams says. Since the inception of the Celebrating Women luncheon, which Adams still helps coordinate, the effort has raised more than $28 million for research, community outreach and expanded technology.

Rowland K. Robinson, president of the Baylor Health Care System Foundation says, “Lindalyn is a grande dame. She’s beloved by hundreds of people in Dallas, and is a role model. She has a lot of grit, quite a backbone, and is a very determined lady. She’s a class act.”

The first time Adams received a paycheck she asked, “Are you sure?” She’s always felt like a volunteer.

Adams is no stranger to working hard, having been president of at least 12 different civic organizations and on more than 20 boards the past 40-plus years. She became the first female president of the Dallas Historical Society in its 60th year in 1981. She was the fourth president of Old City Park and chairman of the Dallas County Historical Commission. As part of her tenure there, she was the founder of The Sixth Floor Museum, located in the Texas School Book Depository (now called the Dallas County Administration Building), which chronicles the history of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. With help from personnel at the National Endowment for the Humanities, she assembled a group of architects, historians and security experts to create this major historical exhibition.

Adams has received much recognition for her career, including the Linz Award, one of Dallas’s most prestigious honors, which is bestowed upon a Dallas County resident once per year for civic service or humanitarian efforts. She has even been honored by Southern Methodist University, where she attended college and met her husband, receiving the SMU Distinguished Alumni Award in 1982, despite never having graduated.

They married in 1949 and immediately moved to Durham, N.C., where he attended Duke University School of Medicine. Returning to Dallas in 1953, they built a house on Azalea Lane in Preston Hollow, which was north from where she grew up on Surrey Circle, (off Inwood close to Northwest Highway), where she attended Highland Park schools. She now lives behind the “pink wall” (which hasn’t been pink since 2001) and she loves the convenience of living in this neighborhood.

She has words of advice for those stayat-home moms who work for years taking

Highlander School

9120 Plano Rd. Dallas / 214.348.3220 / www.highlanderschool.com Founded in 1966, Highlander offers an enriched curriculum in a positive, Christian-based environment. By limiting class size, teachers are able to build a strong educational foundation to ensure confidence in academics, athletics, and the creative and performing arts. Highlander offers a “classic” education which cannot be equaled. Monthly tours offered; call for a reservation.

Holy Trinity Catholic School

3815 Oak Lawn Ave., Dallas 214-526-5113, htcsdallas.org For more than 100 years, Holy Trinity Catholic School, has been committed to the religious, intellectual, emotional, social and physical growth of each student. This commitment is carried out in a nurturing atmosphere with an emphasis on social awareness, service to others, and religious faith in the Catholic tradition. The Immaculate Heart Program at Holy Trinity School was initiated to fully realize our school’s mission of developing the whole child by meeting the needs of one of the most underserved and underperforming groups in catholic schools, children with dyslexia.

Lakehill Preparatory School

Leading to Success. 2720 Hillside Dr., Dallas 75214 / 214.826.2931 / lakehillprep.org

ST. JOHN’S EPISCOPAL SCHOOL

848 Harter Rd., Dallas 75218 / 214.328.9131 / stjohnsschool.org

Founded in 1953, St. John’s is an independent, co-educational day school for Pre-K through Grade 8. With a tradition for academic excellence, St. John’s programs include a challenging curriculum in a Christian environment along with instruction in the visual and performing arts, Spanish, German, French, and opportunities for athletics and community service.St. John’s goal for its students is to develop a love for learning, service to others, and leadership grounded in love, humility, and wisdom. Accredited by ISAS, SAES, and the Texas Education Agency.

White Rock North School

care of their children and husbands and who may now face empty-nesting. “Find something you love, enjoy and believe in. Find an organization that needs help and use your skills and leadership abilities,” she says.

Adams is still at work as she approaches her 87th birthday on July 4.

“I’ve always worked, but I didn’t call it work,” she says.

Adams considers her greatest accomplishments to be her three sons, Richard, Charlie and William, her 10 grandchildren, and her four great grandchildren.

“My whole family is a blessing, and our faith is firmly in place,” she says.

Lauren Law is a former health care marketing executive, and is a neighborhood resident, marketing consultant, writer, wife, mom and volunteer. She writes about neighborhood issues or community areas of interest. Her opinions are not necessarily those of the Advocate or its management. Send comments and ideas to her llaw@advocatemag.com.

Kindergarten through Grade 12 - Lakehill Preparatory School takes the word preparatory in its name very seriously. Throughout a student’s academic career, Lakehill builds an educational program that achieves its goal of enabling graduates to attend the finest, most rigorous universities of choice. Lakehill combines a robust, college-preparatory curriculum with opportunities for personal growth, individual enrichment, and community involvement. From kindergarten through high school, every Lakehill student is encouraged to strive, challenged to succeed, and inspired to excel.

Spanish House

Four East Dallas Locations / 214.826.4410/ DallasSpanishHouse.com Spanish Immersion Program in East Dallas! Nursery, Preschool, Elementary and Adult Programs available. Our new dual-language elementary campus is now open at 7159 E. Grand Ave. Please visit our website at DallasSpanishHouse.com for more information.

9727 White Rock Trail Dallas/ 214.348.7410 / WhiteRockNorthSchool.com 6 Weeks through 6th Grade. Our accelerated curriculum provides opportunity for intellectual and physical development in a loving and nurturing environment. Characterbuilding and civic responsibility are stressed. Facilities include indoor swimming pool, skating rink, updated playground, and stateof-the-art technology lab. Kids Club on the Corner provides meaningful after-school experiences. Summer Camp offers field trips, swimming, and a balance of indoor and outdoor activities designed around fun-filled themes. Accredited by SACS. Call for a tour of the campus.

Zion Lutheran School

6121 E. Lovers Ln. Dallas / 214.363.1630 / ziondallas. org Toddler care thru 8th Grade. Serving Dallas for over 65 years offering a quality education in a Christ-centered learning environment. Degreed educators minister to the academic, physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs of students and their families. Before and after school programs, Extended Care, Parents Day Out, athletics, fine arts, integrated technology, Spanish, outdoor education, Accelerated Reader, advanced math placement, and student government. Accredited by National Lutheran School & Texas District Accreditation Commissions and TANS. Contact Principal Jeff Thorman.