Funeral Service For World Drum Corps Hall Of Fame Member Don Adair
Funeral services for World Drum Corps Hall of Fame member Don Adair, of Philadelphia, took place November 28, following two viewing sessions at Fluehr’s Funeral Home in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. He passed away November 22, 2009. His burial took place at George Washington Memorial Park in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania.
His family requested that, in lieu of flowers, donations be sent in his name to Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation, 4370 Tujunga Ave., Suite 330, Studio City, California 91640. The organization helps provide musical instruments and education to underserved schools.
Don Adair was inducted into the World Drum Corps Hall of Fame in 1995. His drum corps career, spanning six decades, began with the Osmond Post Cadets in 1939, playing a soprano horn. During his years of membership, up to 1950, Osmond Cadets won the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) state championship five times, and the VFW national title twice. He assisted with drill design and instruction when Osmond won the two national titles.
He continued playing lead soprano with Reilly Raiders in 1951, before joining the Marine Corps Divisional Band as a percussionist. He was the brass arranger/instructor for the Hadden Heights Vagabonds, Ridley Park Rangers, PAL Cadets, Bracken Cavaliers, and Reilly Raiders Alumni. He is a charter member of the National Judges Association (NJA) and the original brass caption head. He was a performer for sixteen years and an instructor for 32 more years. He instituted the first judges training program, and also conducted many instructor/judges clinics to help develop more understanding between contestants and adjudicators.
The World Drum Corps Hall of Fame is an independent non-profit organization founded in 1976 by the late Vince Bruni of Rochester, New York to honor individuals who have contributed significantly over many years to the development and continuing excellence of drum and bugle corps activity. Since its founding, membership has grown from six charter members to 437 regular and associate members from the United States and Canada, who have contributed to the activity across North America, England, the Netherlands, the Middle East, South Africa and Japan.
More information is available at the World Drum Corps Hall of Fame website, at www.worlddrumcorpshof.org/
