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Obituary (VA): Thomas Howard Emsley '59

Posted on 05/09/2018

Captain Thomas Howard Emsley, Civil Engineer Corps, U.S. Navy Retired, passed away peacefully on April 25, 2018 surrounded by loved ones after a long, valiant struggle with pancreatic cancer. He was born October 20, 1935, to Howard and Bernice Emsley, raised in Aurora, Illinois and graduated from Marmion Military Academy in 1953. Tom attended Lewis College, Lockport, Illinois, prior to entering the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, graduating in the class of 1959. He married the former Nancy Marie Weis of Aurora December 26, 1960. He is survived by his sister, Patricia Reeves; his wife of 57 years, Nancy; children-Denise (Lionel Tejada), Howard (Holly Brinkmann) and Christopher (Ann O'Malley); and grandchildren-Thomas, Carolyn, Joseph, Michael, and Grace Emsley. Tom's career took him to Sicily, London, Vietnam during the Tet Offensive, and numerous assignments in the U.S. In October 1986, he retired from the Navy as Commanding Officer of the Navy Public Works Center, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, with 27 years of service. He then worked for Bechtel National Engineering and Construction Company in San Francisco, California, for 10 years, and retired in the Virginia Beach area. A funeral Mass was celebrated May 1, 2018 at St. Stephen Martyr Church, Chesapeake, Virginia. Burial will take place at Arlington National Cemetery on a later date.

Published in the Aurora Beacon News on May 6, 2018