Obituary: William David Emberley, 1942-2024 

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• Courtesy
• William Emberley

William David Emberley, 82, of Essex, Vt., died on August 22, 2024, at the Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine, due to complications from pancreatic cancer, detected mere weeks before his death.

William “Bill” was born July 6, 1942, and grew up in Morristown, N.J. He earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering at the University of Vermont, where he forged lifetime friendships with brothers of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity.

Bill started working for Webster Martin Engineering and stayed within the greater Burlington, Vt., area, where he and his wife raised their three children, David, Chris and Deanna. In his twenties, Bill began collecting antique bottles from old dumps, flea markets and garage sales throughout Vermont, which grew into a lifelong hobby. He became well-known in New England for his bottle, stamp and coin collecting, and marketing skills, as well as his engineering skills. In his late thirties, with Donald Phillips, Bill started the civil engineering firm Phillips and Emberley, which focused on state-of-the-art wastewater treatment projects throughout New England. He also worked for Dubois and King.

Bill resided within a 50-mile radius of Burlington until 2008, when he moved to Leesburg, Fla., with his partner of 26 years, Karen Snyder. They summered in Alburg, Vt., then returned to Essex Junction in 2022. Bill fell in love with tennis and continued to play with passion, almost daily, until late in his retirement.

Bill spent his lifetime pouring love into his family and friends, with fun-loving humor and encouragement to do their best. He loved fishing with family and friends, as well as playing, watching, and supporting athletic, academic, and gaming endeavors. When not studying bottle guides, shopping garage sales, watching sports, playing tennis or traveling with Karen, Bill loved watching deer graze in his backyards.

Bill was friendly toward everyone and will be sorely missed by all who knew and loved him. He is survived by his partner, Karen Snyder; children, David Emberley, Chris Emberley and Deanna Emberley Bailey, and their spouses, Susan Emberley, Karen Emberley and Chris Bailey, respectively; Karen’s family, Nicole Adams, Chris Adams, Katie Adams and Richard McCaffrey; his loving grandchildren, Anthony Emberley, Katie Emberley, Elliot Emberley and his wife, Jennifer Emberley, and Thomas Wilson; his great-grandchild, Hudson Emberley; his sister Carol Lindskog; nieces, Suzanne Bacon and Cindy St. Martin; and nephews, Brian Lindskog and Thomas Bacon. Bill was predeceased by his parents, Charles and Charlotte Emberley, Aunt Weesie and Uncle Eddie Theiler, sister Patricia Bacon, and grandchildren Amanda Emberley, Solon Bailey and Liam Bailey. A memorial service will be held at a later date.