Capt Augustus Max (Gus) Adkison, a long time resident of Panama City, had two passions - teaching and the sea.  Having spent his life pursuing both these passions, the retired music teach and charter boat captain passed away Saturday, Feb 13, 1999 in Panama City.  He was 72 years old.

	Funeral services were  held on Feb 15, at the Southerland Funeral Home Chapel.  Burial was next to his parents and brother in New Effort Cemetery in Bonifay, with Southerland Funeral directing.

	Adkison was born in Miami, but grew up in Bonifay.  He earned his Master's Degree in Music, with a minor in Education, from Florida State University in 1954, and was the drum major who led the FSU ""Marching Chiefs" in their first marching performance through downtown Tallahassee in 1948.  He was a charter member of the Epsilon Iota Chapter of Phi Mu Alpha, a national music fraternity.

	In his high school teaching career, Adkison produced award-winning bands in Georgia, New Jersey and Melbourne, Florida.  From 1964 until 1983, he taught instrumental music, music theory and music history at Chipola Junior College in Marianna.  He was also privileged to conduct the premiere performance and several additional performances of the Northwest Florida Chamber Orchestra.  While teaching at Chipola, Adkison conducted orchestras for many Chipola musicals, including, "My Fair Lady", "West Side Story", "The King and I", "Annie Get Your Gun", "Hello Dolly", "The Music Man", "1776", "Mame", and "Bye, Bye, Birdie".

	Adkison was a member of the United States Coast Guard from 1943 to 1946 and served his wartime sea duty as a Gunnery Instructor in the South Pacific.  Although he began chartering deep sea fishing boats part time in 1967, he made it a full time career when he retired from teaching, and operated several chapter boats, including his own, from Capt Anderson's Marina in Panama City for many years.

	Raised a Methodist, Adkison served as a church Choir Director for eight years in Georgia and Melbourne, Florida.

Survivors include his wife Jean of Panama City; his daughter and her husband, Leslie and Charlie Boyle of Port Charlotte; his daughter and her husband, Brenda and Marc Lockhart of Indianapolis, Indiana; his daughter and her husband, Pam and David Burke of Orlando; sons Scott Adkison of Panama City and Lee Adkison of Orlando; his step daughter and her husband, Suzanne and Richard Leigh of Tallahassee; and ten grandchildren: Corey, Lindsay and Jessie Lockhart; Tanner and Allie Boyle, Matt and Blake Sutton, and Tiffany, Brittany, and Ryan Leigh.

SOURCE:  Holmes County Advertiser, 24 February 1999, Page 21