Laurence J. Adams, a McDaniel College honorary trustee and a retired engineer who once helped run one of the nation's largest aerospace corporations, died Wednesday at Johns Hopkins Hospital. The 86-year-old Potomac resident died of complications of pneumonia.

The son of a farmer, Mr. Adams was born and raised in Madelia, Minn., and graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1948 with a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering.

It was during college that Mr. Adams met Marguerite "Peggy" Gaetz, who would become his wife. The two married in 1951.

Mr. Adams worked for what would become the Martin Marietta Corp. for nearly four decades after his college graduation, rising as high as president and chief operating officer.

"He was a remarkable man," said a son, Michael Adams of Potomac. "He was a very modest man. He didn't really talk about it a whole lot, but he was very dedicated to his career and wanted to succeed."

In 1948, Mr. Adams moved to Maryland, where he lived for eight years before transferring to the Denver office.

In 1976, he was promoted to president of Martin Marietta Aerospace and relocated back to Bethesda.

Although he retired in 1986 from the company, Mr. Adams remained active in engineering. In 1988, he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering, one of the highest professional distinctions given to engineers.

"He was honored by that," Michael Adams said. "He thought it was a great thing to recognize having achieved that kind of stature."

Mr. Adams also worked on a joint governmental study on future management and funding of the Global Positioning System in 1994, heading a committee of individuals chosen from the aerospace and electronics industries.

In 1986, Mr. Adams began his work at Western Maryland College, serving for 15 years on the Target Board -- a graduate-level program in Human Services Management that focused on the developmentally disabled.

Mr. Adams and his wife have a daughter, Susan Adams of Gaithersburg, who was born with a developmental disability.

Mr. Adams joined the college's Board of Trustees in 1989 and was named an honorary trustee in 1992. Later that year, Western Maryland established the Laurence J. Adams Chair in Special Education, the college's first fully endowed professional chair, and an endowed scholarship for special education for graduate students.

In 1993, he was presented with a Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the college, now known as McDaniel College.

Family members describe Mr. Adams as a man with varied interests, including baseball.

An Orioles season-ticket-holder, Mr. Adams attended the first and last games at Memorial Stadium, and the opening game at Camden Yards.

"I'd bet they're not many people alive who've done that," the younger Mr. Adams said.

A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at St. Raphael's Catholic Church, on Falls and Dunster roads in Potomac.

In addition to his wife, son and daughter, Mr. Adams is survived by another son, Stephen Adams of Denver; two other daughters, Teresa Hayes of Collegeville, Pa., and MaryLouise Sterge of Malvern, Pa.; and several grandchildren.

brent.jones@baltsun.com