James Michael Adley

James M. Adley, who usually went by Jim, passed away on December 20th, 2024 at age the 82 in Pueblo West, Colorado. He is survived by his wife, Elaine Wadsworth Adley, and his two daughters, Robin Adley Browne and Erin Holly Adley. Jim expired from sudden complications of a heart condition. He passed in the company of his wife and with the voices of his daughters and grandchildren around him.

He is also leaving behind two sons-in law, Tim Browne and Marcus DePalma. Additional family includes Aunt Georgia Appel, Uncle Glenn Appel, and Aunt Helen Winberg. In his family there are several beloved grandchildren: Judah Hartman (18), River Hartman (16), Isaac Hartman (13), Cheyenne Hartman (11), and Bria Adley DePalma (1). His niece, Jennifer Adley Henry, and nephew, John Adley, both reside in Georgia with their children. Jim has a further extended family of loving cousins, nieces, and nephews all over the country.

He was preceded in death by his mother, Mae Marie Adley, father Jack Martin Adley, and brother Jack Patrick Adley. Also preceding him in death was an uncle, William Winberg.
In October 1942 Jim was born in East Chicago, Indiana. Most of his childhood was spent living in the Chicago suburbs and Northwest Indiana. He really enjoyed fishing Wolf Lake with his friends and exploring how to use, and make, large fireworks.

Jim always fostered a strong love of learning and curiosity, which was evident in his academic and professional pursuits. He attended Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana where he earned a Bachelor’s of Science in 1964. This education continued at Wayne State University in Detroit where he obtained his Master’s degree in physics in 1967. After graduation he began working for IBM in Fishkill, New York.

While living in New York, Jim developed his passion for skiing and had a good social network of friends who shared this hobby. Through a ski club he met his wife, Elaine, and they married in August of 1975. Elaine is a native of Oneonta, New York but moved to Longmont, Colorado with Jim as he transferred with IBM in 1976. As a couple they developed a love of the Rocky Mountains and had their two daughters while living in Longmont.

In 1989 Jim was transferred to Rochester, Minnesota with IBM and the family moved north. During his many years at IBM Jim’s research focused on semiconductor measurements and processing, electrophotographic printer physics, and disk drive head to disk interfaces. He looked at each of these areas as challenging problems to solve at a very complex level.

While in Minnesota he took early retirement from IBM and worked at Hutchinson Technology, Johnstech International in the Twin Cities, and for several years started a company with colleagues called Questek Innovations inc. For the coarse of his career he had twenty-one professional publications and held twelve U.S. patents. Most of these patents were earned later in his career, and centered on technical advances of new materials and unique design paradigms for advanced disk drive components.

When not working Jim was a devoted father who enjoyed taking his daughters to horse shows, attending school sporting events, teaching skiing skills to his kids, and passing along practical mechanical knowledge.

In 2003 Jim officially retired and he moved back to Pueblo West, Colorado with Elaine. They wanted to spend their leisure years near the mountains again, and they enjoyed a large plot of private land near Cripple Creek. Jim also continued his life-long hobby of buying, repairing, and selling large construction machinery. He was a regular at Richie Brothers and Taylor & Martin auction yards in Denver. While being a resident of Pueblo West for 21 years he was active in local government and was a Precinct Chairman for Pueblo County Republican Committee.

Prior to his passing, Jim got to celebrate Thanksgiving in Georgia with many members of his extended family. During this visit he still enjoyed deep conversations and shared the warm caring spirit he was known for. Even at tough times, it was common to see a smile on Jim’s face and a quick joke was not far behind that smile. His presence will never be forgotten, but it will be strongly missed around many dinner table gatherings in the future. His generous disposition will continue in the hearts of his children and grandchildren.

In accordance with Jim’s wishes he will be cremated and there will be a celebration of life planned for July 2025 in Cripple Creek, Colorado.
In lieu of flowers please send donations to:
• Habitat for Humanity (https://www.hfhpueblo.org/donate)
• The Pueblo Zoo (https://www.pueblozoo.org/support)
• Special Operations Warrior Foundation
(https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=E130156&id=8).

All of these organizations were supported by Jim and are a wonderful way to honor his memory.