The Life of Nicholas Adams
Nicholas Adams, 74, of Upper Darby, PA died suddenly on December 6, 2022. “Nick” Adams was born in Germany on September 28th, 1948. His beloved mother was Anna Iwasiatyn and his father Lukya Iwasiatyn, who both preceded him in death. The Iwasiatyn family immigrated to the U.S. from Germany to North Philadelphia very early in Nick’s life. Nick was one of four Iwasiatyn children and gained U.S. citizenship in 1973. Around this time he legally changed his last name to Adams from Iwasiatyn due to his admiration of an actor in one of his favorite Western TV shows, “The Rebel”, who also went by the name Nick Adams. Nick worked various jobs in his life, including stints in a jewelry factory and a Superfresh grocery market, but is best known for his long 35 year career in the Housekeeping department at Temple University’s main campus in North Philadelphia. He never retired and remained a dedicated employee and colleague until the day he passed away from a heart attack. Nick had a great fondness for Western TV shows that aired in the 1960’s and could accurately recite the nights and times each of those shows originally aired. He was also a lifelong fan of the music of the late 1950’s and early 1960’s including artists such as “The Platters”, “The Four Tops” and “The Temptations”.
Nick overcame a difficult childhood situation to lead a long and successful life on the strength of his honesty, dependability and pleasant personality. While he kept mostly to himself later in his life, his friendships were deep and long lasting. He will be greatly missed by those who loved and cared for him, including several of his colleagues at Temple University. A celebration of Nick’s life will be held at Mitten Hall on the North Philadelphia campus of Temple University on Thursday, December 15th from 10AM to 11AM. A graveside burial service will be held at Arlington Cemetery in Drexel Hill, PA on Friday, December 16th at 2:30PM.