MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- “I just want to ask everyone to turn to their neighbor and smile,” said Louis Wilburn, brother of Adam Wilburn. “That’s what Adam would do, he would smile. That’s what he was known for, that famous Adam Wilburn smile.”
Mourning community members, family and friends turned to one another and smiled as they sat in the Marine Memorial Chapel here to remember and pay respects to a former station member during a memorial service Monday.
Adam Terrance Wilburn, president of Cable Design Corporation, passed away after a fatal heart attack Nov. 27.
Wilburn departed this life doing what he loved; running his final race.
He was born March 14, 1961, to Marilyn Marba and Buford L. Wilburn, in Chicago, Ill.
He attended Glenbard West High School and the University of Illinois at Carbondale, Ill., graduating with a bachelor’s degree in administration of justice.
Wilburn retired from Xerox Corporation in 2004. He then became the president of Cable Design Corporation, where he headed overseas operations with his brothers Kevin and Louis Wilburn from Iwakuni, Japan, in 2007.
He was an avid athlete who enjoyed running, biking, mountain climbing and skiing. To that end, he participated in many of the cross-country marathons and race events aboard the station.
“Part of the process of living is that we are going to die, and my brother understood that very early on,” said Louis Wilburn. “When he graduated from college, he was diagnosed with a heart murmur.”
But Wilburn didn’t let what could have been a life-altering diagnosis slow him down one bit.
Even after a terrible accident left him with a crushed skull and following seizures almost 20 years ago, he still pressed on.
“He endured and overcame,” said Louis Wilburn. “He was out running every day and biking because that’s what he loved to do. Adam never let the hard times slow him down. He never let the challenges of this life stand in the way of fulfilling his life and his dream.”
While listening to personal reflections from friends and family, many of the Marines, sailors, and civilians had glossy eyes but couldn’t help smiling when they thought of the way Wilburn lived his life.
“He always had smile on his face,” said Thomas Cooper, a former coworker of Adam Wilburn. “He genuinely enjoyed being in Iwakuni and being around people. I can honestly say I have never ever seen this man unhappy.”
In a message left in his room, Wilburn said this, “I loved so many people but can’t be with them, so to everyone whose life I was in, if only for a moment, I am very happy to have met you all and experienced life with you.”
Wilburn will be remembered as the man who always had a smile on his face; who lived life to the fullest and without regret. He was a loving brother and a loyal son whose memory will be cherished by all.
“Adam Wilburn led a good life,” said station chaplain Lt. Robert Mills. “He lived well, he loved well and he died well. Rest in peace.”