FRANCIS EMMERT

Francis Charles Emmert passed away on October 11, 2011. He was born at his grandparents home in Ione, Ca, on February 5, 1914, to Charles and Ethel Wharff Emmert. Raised on a farm in Madera, he attended Fresno State College, worked as a cowboy during the depression to earn money for college, and graduated from UC Berkeley in 1937 with a degree in Forestry. He was a self described lumber and sawmill man who spent most of his working years in the Central Sierra. During World War II he was a member of the (Army) Air Force and surveyed and helped build landing strips on islands through the South Pacific. He went on to use those surveying skills to build many of the early logging roads in the Dinkey Creek and Patterson Mountain area of the Sierras. His own sawmill was located first in the Wishon Lake area and then in Fresno. It was while working as a forester at Dinkey Creek that he met the love of his life, Evelyn Grimmett the daughter of another sawmill man. They married in 1939 and celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary in 2009. Full of vitality throughout his life and always intellectually curious, he maintained a continuing engagement with the world around him. He was an early computer owner, and was a wine connoisseur decades before wine became a popular hobby. After retiring from the lumber industry be became involved with the family ranch and vineyards in Madera and maintained a garden and orchard at his home in Fresno that was a neighborhood treasure. Unassuming and with a dry wit he possessed a strong sense of himself and his firm roots in the Fresno/Madera area. He loved the land, the farmlands of the valley and especially the mountains. His most important legacy is that he passed on that love of the land and the mountains to his children and grandchildren. And for that we thank him. He is proceeded in death by his brother, Keith Emmert; and his sister, Corinne Emmert Thomas. He is survived by his wife, Evelyn Grimmett Emmert; his daughter, Ann Emmert Robinson and her husband Louis Robinson; and daughter, Jane Emmert Stewart and her husband Paul Stewart; and his grandchildren, Jennifer Stewart, and Andrew Stewart and his wife Becky Jaimes Stewart; and brothers, Charles Emmert and Lou Emmert, and Wallace and Maxine Emmert. Funeral Services will be held at Jay Chapel in Madera, at 12:00 p.m., on Saturday. October 15, 2011. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Madera Historical Society or a charity of your choice. Condolences may be offered by visiting www.jaychapel.com