Adam Scott Mclaughlin

Local Cornerstone Landscape entrepeneur, and admiring father of two, Adam McLaughlin, 42, suffered a fatal accident at his Absecon, NJ, home on Thanksgiving Day, 27 November 2014, just three days shy of his 43rd birthday and a few short months after the demise of his

beloved Grand Mother, Julia McLaughlin Boehm on 4 July 2014. He was, likewise, long ago predeceased by his musician/stuntman father, John Scott McSweeney, formerly of Sante Fe, NM, and, more recently, by his stepfather, the acclaimed poet Hayden Carruth, formerly of Munnsville, NY. His Grandfather McLaughlin was lost to us at exactly the same age. And while his Great Grandfather Kohler survived into his hundreds,Adam had endured the demise of scores of great aunts and uncles,and cousins,too numerous to record here, as well as the deaths of close friends, and customers. A man who raised Adam as a son, and nurtured him well into adulthood, disappeared from all contact in the 1980s. Despite these sorrows, Adam retained his high spirits. By some miracle of love, he lived on.

Atlantic City, NJ, born, on 30 November 1971, he was built for our playgrounds, Boardwalk amusement rides, Ocean, and magnificent back bays. Pushing him on swings and on whirl-gigs at parks was a joy, but getting him home was a killer. He once cried so murderously on

leaving a Margate park, an officer was called. Irrestible with his blond curls and big

blue Irish eyes, he promised the kindly cop that he would be a good boy going home from then on. And the honest fellow believed him. Adam would boogie board in the Ocean until blue and trembling with cold. Lifeguards were his heros. One of his happiest summers as a boy was when he was selected as an official mascot. We still have his badge. The guards would

row him out, he'd dive in, they'd throw him a life line, and rescue him. Over and over. He was thrilled. We doubted he was long for this world. Uncontained by the then private Friends Academy, he would be formally educated through high school at local public

schools, as well as in grammar schools in Syracuse, NY, and Johnson, VT, where he mainly studied racing snow boards.

However, he extended his learning through book study and hands-on training in numerous trades. And whether tricking an engine into purring, replumbing a flood- skunked house, or nurturing a recalcitant lawn back to life, he would astonish unpracticed on-lookers,

including his clients, friends, and, in due course, his children.

A gorgeous man of skills and thrills, that was Adam, one might say. And one would be wrong. By some miracle of love, he lived to marry and bear two fine children. By some miracle of love, the mother of his children would put them above everything. And Adam would never part from his Joey and Kayla. Their birth was the thrill of his life. By some miracle of love, his final beloved of the past seven years embraced those children

as her own. With him, she'd attend their events and performances--woo- hooing, and applauding their accomplishments till the redness of her hands matched his own. Once, when work kept Adam from attending a dinner for his daughter's inauguration into the

National Honor Society, he openly wept. To miss a concert by his son was heartbreak. He lived to boogie board with them, to fish, to go boating, three-wheeling in the Pine Barrens, all the fun stuff. In any photograph with them, his entire being smiles.

Along with his adored children, Joseph Daniel and Makayla Faye McLauglin of Hammonton, NJ, Adam is survived by his former spouse and devoted mother of his children, Amanda Carl, also of Hammonton; his love of seven years, Dina Calabrese of Galloway Township,

NJ; his bereft mother Joe-Anne McLaughlin Carruth of Absecon, NJ, and Munnsville, NY; his Uncle and Godfather, Joseph McLaughlin of Absecon, NJ; his devoted Uncle John (Alex Griesel) McLaughin, of Sneads Ferry, NC, along with their children, Shannon Scanlan

Freeman and Kristin Scanlan Russell, both of NC;his fond Uncle Jef McLaughlin (Dawn Ricci) and their children Kimberly Starr and Seth, all of Absecon,NJ; and his devoted Godmother, Mary Harper, also of Absecon, NJ. Adam's living loved ones also include

members of a large extended family: Great Aunts and Uncles, and a small town's citizenry of cousins, dwelling in the Philadelphia area and throughout the US.

Services for our beloved Adam will be celebrated on Saturday, 6 December 2014, his cherished Grand Mother's birthday, at Parsels Funeral Home, from 6-8 PM. The Home is located in Absecon, at 324 New Jersy Ave. Phone is 609 641-0071. Messages may be left at www.parselsfuneralhome.com. An educational fund has been established for his children under the name of their Mother: Amanda Carl at Ocean City Home Bank, 44 South White Horse Pike, Hammonton, NJ 08037. Labeled envelopes will be provided by Parsels for those who can attend. Donations may also be sent directly to the

account. In honor of Adam's lively spirit, the family invites colorful dress. All loved ones, friends, and clients of his landscaping and home repair businesses are welcome to attend. Knowing Adam McLaughlin was an adventure; we give thanks for that thrilling ride.