Sandy McAdams, who founded two long-lasting Charlottesville businesses — the acclaimed C&O restaurant and Daedalus bookshop — died Saturday, 24 years after he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
He was 82.
A native of Pittsburgh, it is Charlottesville where his legacy will live on. His death closes a chapter on the city’s history that won’t soon be forgotten, according to Jackson Landers, who purchased Daedalus Books from McAdams a year ago.
"He was a renaissance man," Landers told The Daily Progress.
Landers marvels that McAdams taught himself carpentry, building what seem like miles of shelves for used books at Daedalus on the corner of Market and Fourth streets as well as the iconic bar at C&O on East Water Street. In 1999, the Washington Post dubbed Daedalus “the best used-book store south of the Strand in Greenwich Village." With no restaurant experience, McAdams also figured out how to run a fine dining restaurant that won plaudits from celebrated New York Times food critic Craig Claiborne the year it opened in 1976.
"The scope of work he did is incredible," said Landers. "They’re aren’t many people like him in the world."
In a year-ago profile on the occasion of McAdams’ selection as one of The Daily Progress’ Distinguished Dozen, McAdams’ close friend and C&O co-founder Philip Stafford recalled an unstoppable business partner.
"He thought he could do anything," Stafford said, "and he pretty much could."
In that same profile, Afton-based author Rita Mae Brown, who penned the classic lesbian coming-of-age novel "Rubyfruit Jungle," shared that she delighted both in Daedalus and its creator, whom she first met when they were both literature students at New York University.
"We’re lucky," Brown said. "He’s raised the tone of the community."
McAdams and Stafford sold C&O in 1984, and McAdams turned his focus to Daedalus.
Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2000, McAdams nonetheless persisted in running the bookstore.
During his last 16 years, McAdams was confined to a wheelchair, and friends would often cover shifts at the store.
Landers said that taking the helm of a McAdams institution has given him a window on the whirl of Charlottesville.
"At least one person comes every day asking for Sandy or asking how he’s doing," said Landers. "They may have come in one time 20 years ago, but he made enough of an impression that they remember his name and they ask after him."
Landers said he was impressed at the way McAdams persisted despite the impact of a severe neurological disorder.
"I’ve been trying to wear Sandy McAdams’ shoes and working 80 hours a week for the past year trying to do what it takes to run this bookstore," Landers said, "and he did it all in a wheelchair."
McAdams served on the board LiveArts, a nonprofit theater company in Charlottesville, and twice staged plays that he penned at that venue.
He spent his last few years reading and painting watercolors at home.
As he wheeled around the residence he shared with his wife, Donna, he would credit his "darling" for making his retirement joyful.
Donna McAdams said that her husband’s health worsened this year as the multiple sclerosis progressed, but she said he embraced death with stoicism.
"His body just wound down," Donna McAdams told The Daily Progress. "He used to call Philip [Stafford] and say, ‘Can you just give me some pills?’ He’s been OK and ready."
In the end, she said, death came naturally, peacefully and at home. She said she envisions a private remembrance ceremony in the new year.
McAdams would credit his wife in sometimes subtle ways, such as ink-stamping all surplus books given away by the bookstore as "Courtesy of Sandy and Donna McAdams." And Landers credits Donna McAdams, a retired nurse, for making the most of her husband’s final years.
"Most people in his physical condition would have been stuffed into a nursing home and maybe wheeled out for an hour a day to watch television," said Landers. "But his wife Donna took him everywhere: to dinner, to the theater and seeing friends. It was a remarkable end to a remarkable life."
Source: www.dailyprogress.com
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