Funeral Service For Hall Of Famer Bob Adair

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Bob Adair, who was inducted into the World Drum Corps Hall of Fame in 1984, passed away on September 21, 2011 at the age of 76. His funeral service was held September 27 at John F. Givnish Funeral Home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, followed by private interment.

A resident of Southampton, but formerly of Philadelphia, he is survived by his companion Jane McGinnis, son Dale Adair, daughter Dawn Ball and 10 grandchildren.

Bob Adair joined the Osmond Cadets in 1941. In 1947, at age 12, he became the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) junior national champion soprano soloist. He marched with Osmond for 10 years, including 1948 and 1949, when they were VFW champions.

While a member of Osmond Cadets, he also studied drumming under the legendary John Dowlan, and joined Dowlan and Hall of Famer Harry Ginther to make up the snare line of the Reilly Raiders in 1952 and 1953, winning American Legion national championships.

He then returned to his interest as solo soprano, becoming music instructor of the Raiders in 1957, winning VFW national championships in 1957, 1958 and 1959 and continuing through 1965. He instructed a number of corps, including Liberty Bell Cadets (1952 to 1958), Haddon Heights Vagabonds (drums) (1955 to 1961), Bracken Cadets (1959 to 1971), and Reilly Raiders Alumni (1994 to 1998).

He was a member of the National Judges Association and served as membership chairman of the World Drum Corps Hall of Fame.

For more information about the World Drum Corps Hall of Fame, including biographies of members and a listing of corps of the decade since the 1940s, visit the Web site at www.worlddrumcorpshof.org/

Posted by on Friday, September 30th, 2011. Filed under Current News, DCA News, FrontPage Feature.