He graduated from Kipp High School in 1946. He obtained his bachelor of science degree in business administration from Fort Hays State University in 1950. While at Fort Hays, Adley met Colletta M. Resley, and they married in 1950. After completing college, he was drafted into the Army, in 1951. He returned to Kansas after completing his military service and attended graduate school at Kansas State University in 1953. Adley continued his military service in the Army Reserves and retired at the rank of colonel in 1986.

Adley joined Kennedy and Coe, LLC, in 1953, became a CPA in 1955, and became a partner with the firm, in 1963. After retiring from the firm in 1990, he continued as a consultant until his death. As an active member in the community and state, he served on many boards and committees and supported various service organizations. Adley was on the board of the Kansas State Board of Accountancy for numerous terms, from 1977 until 2007. He was chairman of the board five times during those years.

He was a director and past chairman of the Friends of Cedar Crest, the residence of the governor of Kansas. He served on the boards of Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America and the Kansas Masonic Foundation. He was also a longtime board member and past president of the Salina YMCA and the Heart of America Lions Club, as well as many other boards. Adley had farming interests around Salina and was instrumental in helping establish the Rural Water District in southeast Saline County in the 1960s. After Adley’s retirement from Kennedy & Coe, he joined the Defense Orientation Conference Association (DOCA) and ultimately became a board member. DOCA’s mission, to educate its members in matters pertaining to national security, allowed Adley to travel extensively around the world.

Survivors include his wife of 59 years, Colletta, of the home; two daughters, Stephanie McGovern (Bruce) of Double Oak, Texas, and Leslie Givens (Kyle), of Lawrence; brothers, Don A. and Cylus; six grandchildren, Chandler and Samuel McGovern and Taylor, Aubrey, Logan and Madison Givens. He was preceded in death by his parents.

Funeral services will be at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, July 27, 2010, at Ryan Mortuary, Salina. Burial will be in Gypsum Hill Cemetery. Friends may call at Ryan Mortuary on Monday, July 26, from noon until 8 p.m. where the family will receive friends from 6 to 7 p.m. Memorials are suggested to Shrine Children’s Hospitals.