Don Wayne Adair

Donnie Wayne Adair was born in Hollis, Oklahoma on January 23rd, 1932, to Alonzo David Adair and Esther Cox Adair (both deceased).

He attended primary school in Oklahoma, a secondary school in Texas, and graduated from Odessa high school in 1950. Shortly afterward, he was introduced to the Baptist church where he first learned about Jesus and was baptized. He began praying and searching for more biblical light, especially in the book of Revelation.

Eventually, Don studied with a Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) member and later with a Davidian SDA teacher. Overjoyed over his new understanding of the scriptures, Brother Adair accepted the foundational Adventist doctrines and readily received the additional prophetic light found in the Shepherd’s Rod doctrines. As such, his understanding of the Revelation deepened.

In 1951, a Davidian named Dudley Goff invited him to attend classes for the ministry. A year later, at the age of 20, he was accepted as a ministerial student and worker, so he moved to Waco, Texas. There he served as an electrician’s apprentice, took classes at Baylor University, and attended the Davidian Levitical Institute.

Brother Adair was involved in the reorganization of Davidians after the death of Brother Victor Houteff. He was among the faithful Davidians who stayed true to the message after the liquidation of Waco, Texas. These Davidians moved to Riverside, California. Brother Don and other brethren from this group moved to the Salem, SC area after learning that the Shepherd’s Rod message was to travel eastward across the United States. Upon arriving in South Carolina, the brethren who managed the Davidian rest home were expecting them and attested that the prophet told them, “One day the work will all be down here [in the Salem, SC area]”. A split occurred, and again Brother Don and other Davidians from this group started the General Association of Davidian Seventh-Day Adventists (GADSDA) next to Salem in Tamassee, SC.

In 1974, Brother Don became the second VP until 2021. He is the longest-serving VP of the GADSDA, serving for 47 years. Before and during his VP tenure, he went on numerous mission trips to many countries including the Caribbean islands, Africa, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and many others. He gave thousands of Bible studies in person and over the phone. He was the first to compile and publish the complete Shepherd’s Rod writings into two large books. He enhanced and published the Shepherd’s Rod Scriptural Index as well as compiled a large three-volume Shepherd’s Rod Reference Index. Additionally, he fought to maintain the printing of the Shepherd’s Rod Volume 2, when some pioneers talked about halting its printing. His main goal was to help Davidians understand the message just as it reads, and to especially understand pertinent last-day events soon to transpire. As such, he wrote and compiled numerous articles, and published books (A Davidian Testimony, The Fall of the Protestant Nations, King of the North) to help clarify misunderstood topics.

Yet, he did not journey this enormous task and life alone. His late wife Sister Marilyn proved to be a faithful helpmate committed to the gospel work and serving as secretary-treasurer of GADSDA until her death in 2018. The pair were happily engaged in this sacrificial kingdom-building work together for 43 years.

Brother Don was a pioneer in the Davidian movement, and without his labors, much history would have been lost. Many Davidian associations have descended directly from his labors and/or from the Salem GADSDA. Don labored to teach the Rod exactly how the prophet had written and taught it. This brought about many battles with those purporting erroneous doctrines. Even so, Brother Don was a friend to all and enjoyed explaining the bible to anyone who called him with questions. He never wasted time or rested from the great responsibility and high calling placed upon him. One would agree that after the prophet, no other person has made such an enormous impact on the message and insurmountable contributions to Davidians such as Brother Don and Sister Marilyn. Although they have passed on, their work will live forever.

In closing, Brother Don was a mentor, a minister, a teacher of present truth, a brother and a friend to many. He leaves behind his sons, Steven, and Samuel (both deceased), Juanita (first wife, mother of his two sons, and deceased), Wanda Walters (second wife, deceased), Marilyn Adair (Mueller) (third wife, deceased), his loving adoptive family and caretakers: Sister Judy Tupolo, Sister Alexia Hall & family, the executive council and members of the Salem GADSDA, a host of friends, brethren, and converts. He will truly be missed.

KJV psalms 116
15 “...Precious in the sight of the lord is the death of his saints.”

“Your work, my work, will not cease with this life. For a little while we may rest in the grave, but, when the call comes, we shall, in the kingdom of god, take up our work once more. {Testimonies, Vol.7, p.17.4}

Mountain View Funeral Home Seneca Chapel is assisting the Adair family with arrangements.