Karl Adkins

The Honorable Karl Adkins
February 28, 1946 – May 26, 2022

Karl was on his way to play golf when he slipped and fell. Even though he received compassionate and
excellent care from the Atrium ICU staff, he transitioned on May 26, 2022. Family and friends gathered
for a luncheon at NorthStone Country Club on September 18, 2022 to celebrate his life, to share stories
and to express their admiration and deep appreciation for him.

Karl was a husband, father and grandfather who was loved and cherished by Carrietta, his wife of 52
years, his daughters Brandie Harris (Ben Harris) and Kristan Adkins (Dana Lumsden) and his beloved
grandchildren, Karly and Maxwell. Smart, kind, unique, complex, handsome and “T and D” (thin and
delightful) were the words most often used by family and friends who also told him he should write
about his unbelievable life.

Born in post-war Neu-Ulm Germany to Frau Emile Lender, Karl knew only that his father was a black U.S. soldier named Fred Jackson. Fred provided food to Emile and her son, Siegfried while her German
husband was away during World War II. When Herr Lender returned, he initially accepted Karl, until he
was ridiculed by his neighbors because he was a brown baby. They divorced. To care for and feed her
children, Emile was a house cleaner. One of her customers was Rufus and Edna Adkins. After some
time, Emile asked if they would take her son to America. In preparation, Karl spent time with the Adkins
family who showered him with gifts. He believed that he would have a better life in America, and at the
age of ten, he left his mom and brother to become a member of the Adkins family. The loss and
separation were traumatic for all of them.

Savannah was the first city where Karl stayed upon his arrival to the United States. He was welcomed
by Edna’s family, the Hutchins. He did not speak English, was frightened by the Palmetto bugs and
perplexed by racial discrimination. The Adkins family first moved to Fort Bragg and later to Fayetteville,
NC. Shortly after moving to Fayetteville, Sgt. Adkins was killed in a freak accident on maneuvers when
he fell off a tanker thrown in the wrong gear. Karl and his mom remained in Fayetteville where he
attended Washington Drive Junior High and E.E. Smith Senior High School. He played high school
football, ran track, and was in the Debate Club and Student Council. Karl graduated from E.E. Smith in
1964.

Karl attended UNC-Chapel hill for his undergraduate work. During the summer of his junior year, Karl
worked for Youth Educational Services. He convinced Carrietta, a school and church friend since ninth
grade, to volunteer daily to teach dance to children participating in the non-profit camp. Because he
liked the way she worked with children, he asked her out to dinner. They were engaged three months
later when he gave her a diamond ring circled around the glass stopper of a perfume bottle. They
married in 1969 and that winter traveled to Germany to reconnect with his mom and brother. Still, his
biological father remained unknown until 1984 when, to his surprise, he received a letter from a first
cousin who had sworn to her grandmother that she would find Karl. In a twist of fate, it happened that
Carrietta’s father had played football at Miles College with Karl’s father, Fred Jackson, but had never
made the connection. Meeting his father put to rest unanswered questions.

Karl was the 1968 recipient of the distinguished John Hay Whitney Fellowship to attend the University
of Michigan Law School. After receiving, his Juris Doctor Degree in 1971, Karl clerked for District Court
Judge Damon Keith in Detroit, Michigan. Immediately after his clerkship, he moved to Charlotte when
he was hired by Chambers, Stein, Ferguson and Lanning. At the time, there were fifteen attorneys
working in the Charlotte and Chapel Hill offices.

The firm had a national and international reputation in school desegregation, employment
discrimination, voting rights, general civil rights litigation and criminal defense. Karl focused his practice on criminal defense and personal injury. Karl and Jim Fuller, a former law partner, were co-counsel for
the now famous Ronnie Long case. Fuller describes Karl’s closing argument as the best he had seen.
They were haunted by losing the case and worked with others to obtain Long’s release and wrongful
conviction after forty-four years in prison. After thirty-two years, Karl left the firm when he was
appointed as a Superior Court Judge by Governor Mike Easley in 2005. He relished being a judge and
served for three years. There were many highlights in his legal career including: President, Board of
Directors of Legal Services of Southern Piedmont; Member of the North Carolina Board of Law
Examiners; President of the North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers; and North Carolina Academy
of Trial Lawyers (Member of the Board of Governors).

Karl and Carrietta were fortunate to be able to enjoy fourteen retired years together. Karl read
voraciously and played golf often with the Charlotte Golfing Seniors and friends. He loved seeing plants grow and added some new plant to his yard every spring. The couple traveled extensively and cherished precious times with their family, especially Karly and Maxwell.

Karl taught his family many lessons: to be supportive of others, to be tenacious in going after dreams, to be proactive in admitting and correcting mistakes, to listen fully with your ears and heart, to use good grammar, to go after a bargain and to boldly use titles bestowed upon you like “King” and “Judge.” He leaves a rich legacy of perseverance, thoughtfulness and love.