John "Jack" Adams had a clear idea of what he wanted his life to be.

A positive example for others.

"He lived his life so the world would be better because of him," said Jack's son, Wally Adams, on Monday. "It was his example that was his greatest legacy."

Jack Adams, philanthropist and co-founder of 63-year-old Coeur d'Alene Tractor Company, passed away on Saturday from old age, his son said.

The community will feel the loss of a man generous with both his talents and his money, Wally said.

"He would answer the call of anybody, whether it was the city, a customer or a friend, with his time and his expertise," said Wally, 69.

A Spokane native, Jack moved to Coeur d'Alene in 1948, the same year that he established Coeur d'Alene Tractor with his first wife, Mina.

The company thrived, maintaining customers for generations. The business has remained a family-run entity, and Jack continued working there even after passing over the management to his sons, John and Wally.

Today, four generations of Adams keep Coeur d'Alene Tractor running, including one of Adams' grandsons, Cal Russell, who oversees the Bonners Ferry branch of the business. Cal's son Howie Russell works in sales.

Jack, a faithful Coeur d'Alene Tractor employee until he retired at 97, maintained the company with dedication and no fear of labor, Wally said.

"It was like his child," he said, adding that his father worked long, hard hours. "There was not a customer he couldn't look in the eye and say, 'I treated you right.'"

Wally recalled when a customer invited Jack over for dinner one night, only to later apologize that the meal wasn't possible because the milking machine was broken.

"Dad came out and milked the cows himself, and then cooked dinner," Wally said. "That's just the way he was. Selfless."

The last decade or so Jack slowed down a bit, handling only the company's banking and collecting the mail, Wally said.

Only once, about a decade ago, did Jack need a break, Wally said.

"One day he had finished his routine and he told my brother and I, 'I'm not doing this anymore,'" Wally remembered. "I said, 'Aren't you going to give us any notice?' and he said, 'I just did. I won't be in tomorrow.'"

Apparently the mood change didn't last long.

"A week later, he wanted his job back. And then he worked until he was 97," Wally said.

The company has been a member of the Coeur d'Alene Chamber of Commerce since 1948, said Marilee Wallace, sales and marketing director for the chamber.

"Since they've been around for so long, we know that they're a well respected business with very loyal customers," Wallace said. "The fact that they are and have been family owned and operated says a lot about their customer service, and how they treat their customers, friends and neighbors."

Mary and Jim Mooney, who own a farm and ranch south of Coeur d'Alene, have been customers of Coeur d'Alene Tractor since it first opened, Mary said.

They trusted the company with their crucial equipment, Mary said, because of the jolly and competent businessman who had founded it.

"He always treated you really fair on a deal, whether we made large purchases or just for parts," she said.

Customers were Jack's friends, she added.

"He was always going out of his way to greet you when you came into the store, or if you saw him anywhere else," Mary said. "I always felt really special that he did remember us as they (the company) had open houses."

Adams also sat on the Coeur d'Alene City Council in the '50s, Wally said, and he was a dedicated Shriner. With many family members alumni of North Idaho College, his company has been a longtime supporter of the NIC Booster Club, NIC Foundation and NIC Alumni Association.

Jack contributed both money and hard labor to the construction of the Coeur d'Alene public golf course, Wally added, and he used to plow the lake so children could ice skate.

"(He did it) because the town had been very good to him," said Wally, now retired from the company.

Sandy Emerson, an appraiser in Kootenai County, added that Jack was also instrumental in the construction of the Coeur d'Alene airport.

"He would not only be on the committees to expand it, but he also used his equipment to build the air strips," said Emerson, who knew Jack through business and family. "He's one of those guys who leaves a legacy, who got things done."

Through it all, Wally said, Jack was active in raising his four children, John, Wally, Joyce and Janis.

"We would have supper together, all six of us, every day," Wally said, adding that Joyce passed about 11 years ago. "We would eat together and he'd go back to work."

Jack was always a positive influence, said Mike Bullard, former pastor at First Presbyterian Church where Jack was a member.

"I saw the tender love and appreciation he had for his children, agonizing over their every challenge, and happy to the point of tears with anything that made them happy," Bullard wrote in an e-mail.

Jack is survived by his third wife, Pauline Adams. Jack had outlived his first wife, Mina, as well as his second wife, Edna. He also leaves behind his three children, 10 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren.

Jack's other son, John, was out of state on Monday and could not be reached for comment.

The funeral date is not yet set.

Jack was a master welder, mechanic and salesman, Wally said. Although his father never attended college, he learned to operate a CAT tractor while helping build the Grand Coulee Dam in Washington in the '30s, and also taught himself how to weld.

"He could do anything," Wally said.