John Emmons, 90, longtime Ridgefielder

John Edward “Jack” Emmons of 646 Branchville Road, a retired clerical worker who as a boy would come to school by train, died Thursday, Jan. 25, at Glen Hill Convalescent Home in Danbury. He was 90 years old and the husband of the late Myrtle Clark Emmons.
Mr. Emmons was born in New York City on July 29, 1910, a son of the late John Edward Sr. and Florence Mead Emmons. His father, a stockbroker, died in 1913 and his mother, a Ridgefield native, moved the family to Branchville where Mr. Emmons grew up.
He and his brother Charles attended the nearby one-room Branchville Schoolhouse through the fifth grade. Upper grades were then located in the East Ridge School, now the VNA and school board offices, and the Emmons boys would take the passenger train from Branchville to the old depot at what’s now Ridgefield Supply, and walk to the school. It wasn’t until after passenger service ended in 1925 that school buses were provided.
Mr. Emmons graduated from Ridgefield High School in 1928 and studied at the City College of New York. For 25 years he was a clerk for the Remington-Rand Corporation in Norwalk, where his wife also worked. He later worked for The Albany Products Company in Norwalk, retiring in 1975.
In 1939, Mr. Emmons married Myrtle Clark of New Canaan, and the couple lived in Norwalk for many years. In 1959, they built their own home on family land in Branchville.
Mrs. Emmons died in 1990, a year after the couple had marked their 50th wedding anniversary.
Mr. Emmons belonged to Jesse Lee Memorial United Methodist Church and worked for many years on the church’s annual Yankee Peddler Fair. He was secretary of the Men’s Club at Jesse Lee for several years, and also belonged to the OWLS, where he enjoyed playing bingo.
Survivors include two daughters, Carole Emmons and Trish Reese, both of Ridgefield; his brother, Charles Emmons of Ridgefield; two grandchildren, John Reese of Gloversville, N.Y., and Jennifer Valachovic of Pittsburgh, Pa.; and three great-grandchildren.
Services took place Monday at Jesse Lee Memorial United Methodist Church. Burial was alongside his wife in Lakeview Cemetery, New Canaan.
Contributions in his memory may be made to the Jesse Lee Memorial United Methodist Church Scholarship Fund, 207 Main Street, Ridgefield.
The Kane Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.