Times Observer photo by Josh Cotton Family members of Donna Adams, a county employee who died in 1981, gathered to rededicate a memorial to her on the courthouse lawn. Those attending included her daughter, Elizabeth, at right.

It’s been 40 years since county officials, staff, friends and family gathered in late 1982 to dedicate a marker and white birch tree to the memory of Donna Adams.

Adams, a county payroll clerk for 10 years who also worked in the register and recorder’s office and with voter registration, died at her home of a heart attack the prior year.

Years passed, the birch tree split in a storm and was removed, and all that was left was the stone and plaque — “1982 Memorial to Donna Adams.”

Flashforward to this Monday and a new white birth was placed next to that stone and the memorial was rededicated.

Phil Gilbert, the county’s tax claim director, drove that effort.

“My (office) window faces Market,” he said. “There used to be a nice, big beautiful birch.”

Gilbert said he was walking with his son along Market St. and saw stone and plaque. The next question is pretty logical — Who was Donna Adams?

“I started asking around the courthouse. No one had any idea,” he said. “It seems like she was forgotten about (and that) was kind of sad to me.”

He went to the Warren County Historical Society and ran into someone that knew Adams. That turned into research time at the Warren Public Library where he and his son found her obituary and other information about her.

“From there it all sort of came together,” Gilbert said.

According to her obituary, Adams was the daughter of Olga and Robert Carlberg and heavily involved with local VFW Auxiliary initiatives, including as a grayback in the Cootiettes.

She married Charles Adams in 1953 and they had three children — Frederick, Carol and Elizabeth.

Gilbert was able to reach out to family, many of which attended the rededication on Monday.

“She obviously meant something,” Gilbert said of uncovering Adams’ legacy. “(I wanted to) bring attention to it.”