Dr. Elizabeth McCann Adams, 88, died at Hospice House in Concord on Tuesday, May 22, 2012, after a long illness.Betty was born Dorothy Elizabeth McCann on July 12, 1923, in Baltimore, Md., to Dr. William Sharp McCann and Dr. Gertrude Fisher McCann. Betty grew up in Rochester, N.Y., where her father was the first chairman of the Department of Medicine at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and served as president of the American Medical Association, and her mother balanced her medical practice with raising a family.After graduating from The Harley School in 1940, Betty earned her bachelor's degree from Wellesley College in 1944, and her M.D. from Cornell Medical College in 1947. She married Dr. Hugh Robert Adams of Woodbury, Tenn., in 1950. Together, they had two children.Widowed in 1964, Betty completed a residency in psychiatry then a fellowship in child psychiatry at UCLA in 1969, the same year her two children finished high school. She moved to Hawaii and worked for the state as a psychiatrist, treating children and adults in the corrections, mental health and family court systems. In later years she had a small private practice and worked as a volunteer legislative advocate for the American Cancer Society in Hawaii. The Hawaii Medical Association named her the 1996 Physician of the Year in recognition of her outstanding community service.She was a proud member of the Hawaii Medical Association and the American Medical Association, to which she belonged for more than 50 years.Throughout her life, Betty was devoted to her family and to the welfare of other people and animals. She loved horses and especially loved her dogs.She was an independent thinker with high standards, a quiet but effective volunteer, and a brave woman who asked for little but gave much. In 2000, due to illness, she left her beloved home in Kailua and spent her final years with her son and other family in California, and her daughter in New Hampshire.She is predeceased by her parents, her husband, and her brother Dr. William Peter McCann of Birmingham, Ala.She is survived by her son and his wife, Drs. Jess and Sallie Adams of Sacramento, Calif.; her daughter and her husband, Dr. Ellen Bassett and Jim Bassett of Canterbury; and grandchildren William Adams and Barbara Adams of Phoenix, Ariz., Henry Adams of Palo Alto, Calif., Jesse Bassett of Nashua, and Johnny Bassett and Hannah Bassett of Canterbury.At her request, there will be no services. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Concord Regional VNA Hospice House, 30 Pillsbury St., Concord 03301.Phaneuf Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.