Cherry Emerson

Family-Placed Death Notice

Cherry Logan Emerson. The familiar Jesuit axiom "Give me the child and I'll give you the man" is borne out by the life of Cherry Logan Emerson. As a boy growing up in Atlanta, he excelled at his studies; played sports; tinkered in his basement woodworking shop; spied on his sister Dorothy and her pretty friends; enjoyed, studied and played music and embarked on his first business venture. He was named after both the Cherry and Emerson sides of his family and embodied each in his giftedness for both science and music. His schooling took him from Spring Street Grammar School to Boy's High and on to Emory University. His most memorable chemistry lesson did not take place in the classroom, however, but at the home of his paternal grandfather William Henry Emerson. Dr. Emerson was the founding member of the Georgia Tech Chemistry faculty and a loving grandfather. After young Cherry accidentally set a fire in the kitchen, he received a lesson on the chemistry of fire while his grandfather calmly extinguished the flames. At Emory he earned both a BA (1938) and MA (1939) in Chemistry. Then taking what he always said was his father's only piece of advice, he went "up north" to study Chemical Engineering at M.I.T. where he earned an MS in Chemical Engineering under his major professor Warren K. Lewis. Although Dr. Lewis was a somewhat awesome figure at first, he was to later offer him room and board in exchange for household labor such as stoking the furnace. Dr. Lewis always had an eye for promising students and was persuaded by this one to switch fuels from coal to coke. Doc Lewis was also to become his father-in-law in 1942 when Cherry married his youngest daughter Mary. The same passion which Cherry applied to his studies, he then applied to his life's work as a chemical engineer. In 1948, only a few years out of school, he and his friend Bill Cuming founded Emerson and Cuming Co. The history of their collaboration has been well documented, but the most significant aspect of their consulting and manufacturing business was innovation. They created original solutions to scientific/technical problems and created and patented an entirely new line of products for the electronics industry. In 1978, the two partners sold their company, now Emerson and Cuming, Inc., which had grown from a small lab in Boston, Massachusetts into a worldwide enterprise. Cherry returned to his hometown of Atlanta in 1985 to become a major philanthropist in both chemistry and music. Although he never became an academic, Emerson deeply admired the chemistry faculty at his alma mater, Emory University. Of his many endowments in chemistry, the William Henry Emerson Chair of Chemistry at Emory best reflects both his respect for their work and the wellspring from which it sprang - his paternal grandfather. As a boy, Cherry loved a well told tale. He favored adventure stories, especially Treasure Island, which his grandfather Emerson read to him many times. Later in life, he read it to his3 sons and very recently gave a copy to his 10 and 8 year old great-grandsons Austin and Hadden Wright. In grammar school, Cherry played football with the Morningside Wildcats. He learned to play golf with his father at the Ansley Park golf course, a sport which he also played in college and took up again in later life after decades of playing tennis. At the age of 86, he and his son Ned won the Father-Son golf tournament at the Duxbury Yacht Club. He often played in a threesome with his son Ned and grandson young Ned (now a college student). Cherry was a sports lover and fan as well as a player. He took his children to Red Sox games in Fenway Park, starting a tradition which continues to this day. At the age of 81, he attended his first World Series game in Atlanta with his daughter and baseball buddy Kathy. He exclaimed "My first World Series!" as if, always the optimist, there would be more such events in the future. During summer vacations in Duxbury there were many years of family outings to Red Sox Games. Most recently his son Warren and grandson Christopher witnessed the triumph of the Red Sox in the 2004 World Series. Cherry's first wood working shop was in the basement of his Morningside house. He had an elaborately outfitted shop in the basement of his home in Duxbury where he made gifts for friends and family, including a cradle for his first great-grandson Austin. This cradle has now been passed to his great-grandchildren Wyatt and Jessa Dunn. As a boy, Cherry studied the piano with Alfredo Barili, a well known teacher in Atlanta. This experience surely inspired him to buy his own piano as a teen-ager. He loved being a spear-bearer in the opera Aida during the years when the Metropolitan Opera came to Atlanta (in part sponsored by his maternal grandfather Woods White). He played the piano for pleasure for many years and encouraged his children to take piano lessons. He took his children to the Boston Symphony and to the Boston Pops once he could afford the tickets. In the early years of his business, with three young children, he could not. Although he never became a professional musician (advised by his piano teacher to "keep his day job") he was a passionate supporter of those who were. In later life, his patronage of music in Atlanta included support for the symphony and especially for his favorite music of all, chamber music. He also commissioned a book about his beloved piano teacher, Alfredo Barili and sponsored a piano competition in his honor. Cherry's first business enterprise began when he was 11 years old. Having his eye on the prize, he floated a small loan from his mother Sina who recognized a good prospect when she saw it! He parlayed three dollars into over six hundred by selling coca colas (chilled at home) to construction workers in his Morningside neighborhood. During the Great Depression it was possible for him to buy a Steinway baby grand piano, his musical treasure. His originality, enterprising spirit and long view of future prospects were the qualities which made his life's work at Emerson & Cuming flourish as well. When this season of his life ended, he came back home to plant the fruits of his labors. Cherry Emerson died at his residence in Atlanta on Sunday, April 29, 2007, surrounded by his family. The room was filled with the Mozart piano concertos that he loved. His life had finally come, too soon for those who loved him, full circle. A memorial service will be held at Central Congregational Church in Atlanta on May 26 at 3 p.m. Arrangements by H.M. Patterson and Son, Spring Hill, Atlanta.