Adam Jason Cushman

Adam Jason Cushman was born May 23, 1974 in Twin Falls, Idaho. At the age of 35, on Sunday, February 21, Adam was honored to personally meet his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He was returning from work, bringing dinner to his family when a fatal traffic accident occurred nearly a mile from his home in Vancouver, Washington. Adam first attended school in Filer, Idaho, where his father, Gary, began his police career. When Adam was in the fourth grade, Gary went to work for the Meridian, Idaho Police Department. The family moved to Kuna, Idaho, where Adam graduated from high school in 1992. While in high school, Adam began a ten-year career with Albertson's. He was also involved in Republican politics and spent some time working with Congressman Larry Craig's campaign staff. At 18 years of age, Adam was honored to be part of the security team when Vice President Dan Quayle visited Boise. It was in 1992 when Adam first met the one who would become the love of his life, Elizabeth Ellis, while attending summer camps and other Nazarene youth functions. He seemed like a serious person, his wife saysshe could tell right away that he was a protective man who would be an excellent husband and father. His subtle sense of humor surprised and impressed her. The couple began their courtship in 1994 and married in January of 1995. Following in his father's law-enforcement footsteps, Adam served as a reserve patrol officer for the Meridian Police Department, and was employed as a Canyon County Deputy Sheriff in Caldwell, Idaho. He worked as a reserve patrol officer for the Parma Police Department while attending Northwest Nazarene University, where he graduated in 2000. He was hired by the Portland Police Department in July 2000 and promoted to the position of Sergeant Criminalist in the Forensics Division in 2006. "Faithful" is the word that most accurately describes Adam; he was fiercely faithful in his dedication to God, to his wife and to his role as a caring father to sons Jacob and Isaac. He faithfully nurtured his family, whether he was leading his boys through Boy Scout activities, feeding them meals fresh from the barbeque, or sharing his love of the Star Wars universe. Adam's faithfulness inevitably spilled over into his professional lifeas his Sergeant expressed, Adam was a "go-to" person whenever a job needed to be done right. In the words of his colleagues, Adam was "a genuinely good and decent person," and "a consummate professional." With an endless mission for improvement, Adam is a 2008 graduate of University of Tennessee's National Forensic Academy in Knoxville, Tennessee. In 2009 he was certified as a Level 1 Crime Scene Investigator by the International Association for Identification. He was most recently hired as an on-call death investigator by the federal Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team. Adam is survived by his wife Liz Ellis Cushman, sons Jacob (13) and Isaac (10) of Vancouver, Washington; his mother, Mona Pearson Cushman, father, Gary Cushman, and brother John Cushman all of New Plymouth, Idaho; sisters Carol Cushman and Sarah Cushman of Caldwell, Idaho, and many nieces and nephews, as well as grandparents Gene and Patti Cushman of Idaho Falls, grandfather Robert Pearson and wife Tonya of Idaho Falls. He was preceded in death by his grandmother, DeLora Miller. Memorial Services will be held at the Portland First Church of the Nazarene, 6100 Southwest Raab Road, on Monday, March 1st at 1:00 pm. A second memorial service will be held at the First Church of the Nazarene in Nampa, Idaho, 601 16th Avenue South, on Friday, March 12th at 1:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, Adam would want donations to be made to the Family Ministry of his long time friend, Rob Jorgensen, Campus Crusade for Christ, 12037 Lake Cypress Circle #F203 Orlando, Florida, 32828. The Adam Cushman Memorial Fund has also been established in order to assist his family. Donations will be accepted at any U.S. Bank branch.

Adam Jason Cushman

May 23, 1974 - February 21, 2010