Adelaide Fu

Adelaide Dorfman Fu, 2 December 1939 – 2 June 2025

It is with great sadness that we share the news that our mother, Adelaide Dorfman Fu, passed away on 2 June2025.

Addie, as she was known by her friends and family,was born on 2 December 1939 to Constance and Edward Dorfman in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. She grew up in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts with a younger sister, Louise. Addie graduated from Pittsfield High School in1957 and attended Bates College in Lewiston, Maine(class of 1961). After earning a BA in history, Addie went to the University of Michigan where she obtained a MA in library science. One of the highlights of her career as a librarian was an assignment with the Library of Congress in Washington DC.

While at the University of Michigan, she met Jerry Hui-Ming Fu, a doctoral student in aerospace engineering. They married in 1964 and welcomed their first son, David, the same week Jerry’s PhD thesis was due! Jerry’s work took them to Silver Spring for a post-doctoral position at the University of Maryland where their second son, Michael, was born. The family moved to Los Alamos, New Mexico in 1970 where Jerry worked for EG&G and, eventually, Los Alamos National Lab. Their third child, Melissa, was born in Los Alamos. Once the three kids were in school, Addie worked at LANL for many years with the epidemiology group and was active with the local AAUW and Los Alamos Arts Council. Addie was deeply committed to her kids, driving them to music lessons, scout meetings, chess tournaments, summer camps,speech club events, and tolerating countless parties and game nights. Addie and Jerry moved to Albuquerque in 1996, where they enjoyed the big city life until Jerry’s passing in 2019. After nearly 50 years in New Mexico, Addie moved to Catonsville, Maryland in 2019, to be closer to David’s family.

Anyone who knew Addie knew that she had a remarkable talent for entering a room of strangers and leaving with new friends. She was interested in everyone’s story and walked through the world with a curiosity, generosity and compassion that made people feel heard and seen. She could talk – at length – to anyone. Addie embraced the beauty in each place she lived, from leafy childhood summers by the Stockbridge Bowl in Massachusetts, to the wild, rocky beaches of Maine, to the stark, dramatic beauty of Northern New Mexico. She loved classical music,travel, reading, book clubs, Pueblo pottery, art, lemon cookies, and a good natter. Most of all,she loved her friends and family. Her friends, many of whom she knew for decades and all of whom she treasured, were a constant source of comfort and joy.

She is survived by her sister, Louise (Peter) Ashworth of Mebane, North Carolina; her children David (Cathy) of Catonsville, Maryland, Michael (Amanda) of Fremont, Nebraska, and Melissa (Matthew) of Cambridge, UK; and her grandchildren Kieran, Sylvie, Erica,Christopher, Nicholas and Juniper.

In lieu of flowers, we suggest that you meet a friend for coffee, read a good book, enjoy a lemon cookie, and make a donation to a charity or cause you support. It’s what Addie would have wanted. No service Information at this time.