Adams-Mastrovich Family Foundation

Mission To support charitable causes in the areas of education, religion, health, human services, and the arts to organizations located in or serving citizens of Los Angeles County, California, and South Dakota. About the Foundation Mary Mastrovich Adams, born in 1898 in Lead, South Dakota, was the only daughter among the four children born to Eli and Anna Mastrovich. Of Yugoslavian heritage, Mrs. Adams was strongly influenced by the Catholic Church throughout her life. Widowed at a young age in 1917, she married her second husband William Emory Adams II in 1927. Adams was a prominent businessman in Deadwood, South Dakota, as well as its mayor for six terms during the 1920s. The couple maintained residences in both South Dakota and California. Their home in Deadwood now belongs to the City of Deadwood, and it is open to the public as the Historic Adams House. After William’s death in 1934, Mary continued to divide her time between the West and Midwest. She also traveled extensively in Europe, making numerous trips to her ancestral home in Yugoslavia. During those years, she deepened her commitment to education and the performing arts and helped many young students obtain their musical training. She also donated generously to a scholarship fund at Loyola Marymount University and to other institutions of higher learning, particularly those with programs in vocal and instrumental performance. In addition, she shared her resources with several Roman Catholic parishes, hospitals, museums, and libraries, as well as programs for battered women and an organization serving delinquent teenage boys. The Adams-Mastrovich Foundation was established in 1957 to sustain her philanthropic interests. After suffering a stroke in 1988, Mary entered the Marycrest Manor Home in Culver City, California, where she resided until her death in 1993.