Beloved son and brother, sports lover

Adam Arthur Cave, a longtime Claremont resident, died in a traffic accident on the evening of December 6, 2016. He was 22 years old.

 He was born on January 25, 1994. He grew up in Claremont, went to Sycamore Elementary School and El Roble Junior High School and attended The Webb Schools of California for high school. Throughout his youth and teen years, Adam was constantly involved in sports. He played soccer (Claremont AYSO through high school), basketball (CYB through eighth grade) and baseball (Claremont Little League through seventh grade). In high school, he was on the Webb JV basketball team and helped found the Webb men’s volleyball team. Adam took up golf while in high school; he was not only an avid golfer but an avid golf proselytizer, convincing both his parents to take up the game, against all odds and expectations.

Adam threw himself into anything he did. For a time, he decided he was going to be an actor. He participated in theater at Claremont School of Theater Arts, at The Webb Schools and at Pitzer College. He was a natural, who could leave the crowd “rolling in the aisles.” He wanted to start attending a west-side improv workshop on the recommendation of a staffer at CSTA, and auditioning for commercials, but eventually decided to go in other directions. He also participated in student government at Webb, serving as the associated student body (ASB) vice president in his junior year and ASB president in his senior year. He graduated from Webb in 2012.

Adam was a member of Claremont Presbyterian Church. Through much of high school, he worked in the church nursery on Sundays. He had a great time interacting with young children and was a regular presence the kids counted on. He also worked at The Webb Schools’ summer sports camps.

He attended Pitzer College and graduated in spring 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in media studies. His particular love was the application of media studies to sports and, during his last two years at Pitzer, he worked as an intern with the Los Angeles Clippers in their data analytics department. In the summer of 2015, he worked for the Los Angeles Sparks in their public relations department and in the 2015-16 academic year he worked as a student assistant coach on the Pomona-Pitzer men’s basketball team. 

The flexibility that Pitzer College afforded him in designing and carrying out his degree allowed him to develop the skills that contributed to landing his dream job in September 2016, as the video coordinator for the Los Angeles Lakers’ Development League team, the D-Fenders.  He was part of the coaching staff, worked with players at practice and provided film to scout other teams as well as improve the D-Fenders. He loved every minute of it. 

He moved to Marina del Rey, living with two friends, to be close to work. Since the beach was only two blocks from his apartment, he began to relearn to surf. On the evening of Tuesday, December 6, he was coming home from work on his motorcycle and a car turned in front of him, causing the crash. 

The Lakers organization was a wonderful home for Adam, and they have been a great support to his family during this time. To see the tribute they broadcast the night after he died, search “12-7 Adam Cave Tribute” on YouTube. The web addresses to more tributes to Adam and his basketball work can be found on the online version of his COURIER obituary.

“In our family we know Adam as a funny, outgoing, kind, enthusiastic person who would talk knowledgeably about any sport at length. He enjoyed life and loved spending time with friends; in particular, he developed a large community of good friends at Sycamore, The Webb Schools and Pitzer College, with whom he hoped to stay close for a long time,” his family shared. “These friends have been a tremendous support to our family following Adam’s death, and we are grateful for their love for him and us.”

He is survived by his parents, Susie and Bob Cave, his brother Ian and countless friends.

A memorial service for Adam Cave will be held on Saturday, January 14 at 11 a.m. at Claremont Presbyterian Church. The church is located at 1111 N. Mountain Ave. in Claremont.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made to the need-based endowed scholarship in Adam’s name at Pitzer College or to The Webb Schools. Alternatively, contributions in Adam’s name to your favorite charity would be a tremendous way to honor him.