It is with profound sorrow that the sisters of Robert Shawn Adamson announce his sudden passing from a stroke on Tuesday, October 8, 2024, at his home in Vancouver, Washington. He was born in Pocatello, Idaho, on May 2, 1963, to Melvin Earl Adamson and Carol Jean Poole Adamson, who proceeded him in death. He lived his first fourteen years in Pocatello, Idaho, then moved with his parents to Nampa, Idaho, where he graduated from Vallivue High School in 1981. In his teens and early twenties, he worked for local farmers and in food service, but he was always dreaming big about what the future would hold. Shawn enjoyed fishing and camping with his dad, something they made time for throughout the years. Shawn cared for his dad lovingly during the period of his dad’s decline from Alzheimer’s and before his dad’s own death from a stroke in 2011. In his late twenties, Shawn got into some trouble with alcoholism, which became a difficult obstacle on his life’s journey. With his parents’ and sisters’ help, he got treatment and did the hard work to address his addiction. Subsequently, he became a respected drug and alcohol counselor at St. Luke’s hospital in Boise, Idaho. In that job, he gained the respect of many as he took individual men through the 12-step program and worked with men’s groups. Weekends during this period saw him hiking the mountains of Idaho and combing the beaches of Oregon with his first true love, a blondish-red Siberian Husky named Nakai. Shawn also took up scuba diving and got married. After several trips diving in some of the world’s most beautiful reefs, he allowed himself not only to dream of owning a scuba diving business, but to make it a reality. He and his wife bought Scuba Bula Dive Shop in Fiji, packed up Nakai, and for the next several years, lived an incredible Pacific Island dream teaching people to dive and taking them to the most beautiful underwater places. It was in Fiji that Shawn buried Nakai, and he would never quite get over losing his strikingly beautiful canine companion of so many years. Back in Idaho, he landed a job working at Big Al’s, the Northwest’s premier family-owned and family-friendly entertainment venue with food, arcade games, bowling alleys, and movie theaters. He worked first in Boise, Idaho, then transferred to Vancouver, Washington. Over the years, he was recognized multiple times by the company for his good humor, service, and work ethic. In these years, he divorced, another heartbreaking event on his life's path. To begin healing, he returned the mountains and rivers, taking up camping from the back of his truck, just like his earlier days with his dad. He rescued and adopted a new canine companion named Fiona, a feisty Jack Russell Terrier, and jokingly called her ‘fiddy cent,’ because she was tiny, ‘less than a dollar,’ but fierce. He loved Fiona with a passion. She accompanied him on all his adventures until she took the rainbow path to join her brother Nakai. Shawn will be lovingly remembered by his sisters, Joni Adamson (Mesa, AZ), Kris Adamson (Blackfoot, ID), and Nicole Adamson (Nampa, ID), and by his two nieces and two nephews, and their partners and children, London, Reese, and Ari. A memorial is planned for summer of 2025. Shawn’s ashes, and Fiona’s, will be released into the Pacific, so that their spirits can mingle with Nakai’s. Then, together, the dogs and their dad will reunite with his parents for a camping trip somewhere on an Idaho river, or a dive into the Pacific ocean. If you would like to do something in Shawn's memory, please plant a tree, hike a National Park, dive a coral reef, or clean up some plastic in a forest or ocean so that the beautiful natural places Shawn loved may continue to thrive.