Philip H. Emery Jr.

Philip Emery ObituaryObituary published on Legacy.com by Pritts Funeral Home & Chapel P.A. - Westminster on Mar. 17, 2026.Philip H. Emery Jr., Age 91, passed away on March 11, 2026, at his home in Westminster, MD. Born in Portland, Maine on November 13, 1934, to Philip and Marjorie Emery. He graduated from Lawerence High School in 1953 and then graduated with his BS in Engineering Physics from the University of Maine in 1957 then completed a fifth-year course in Pulp and Paper Management there in 1958.In 1958, he married his college sweetheart, Sylvia M. Emery, and moved to Wisconsin where he attended the Institute of Paper Chemistry. He earned an MS in 1960 from Lawrence College and a PhD in 1965 in Physical Chemistry and Chemical Engineering from Lawrence University.He joined Westvaco Corporation later in 1965 at the Charleston Research Center. Westvaco transferred him to the fine papers mill in Luke, Maryland in 1970 where he would later become Production Manager in 1976 and then Mill Manager in April 1981. In 1986 Westvaco transferred him to Corporation's NYC Headquarters where he was promoted to VP in Corporate Engineering in1987. In 1988 he managed a new facility for the Corporate Engineer Department in Laurel, MD. Then in 1992 he headed up the Fine Papers Division as a Senior Vice President Westvaco Corporate Center in Richmond, VA where he would retire in 1999.He was a member of the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry (TAPPI) and the Instrument Society of America (ISA). He was a past member of the Dean's Advisory Council at the University of Virginia's School of Engineering and Applied Science, the Printing-Writing Executive Committee of the American Forest & Paper Assoc. (AF &PA), the Paper Industry Management Association, and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). He was a lifelong member and past Chairman of the University of Maine Pulp and Paper Foundation which awarded about one hundred tuition-free scholarships each year to students with an interest in a career in pulp and paper or related industries.Philip and his wife, Sylvia, moved numerous times throughout their lives and settled in their most cherished location of Deep Creek Lake once he retired. He was most proud of being a wonderful father of four children and cherished grandfather of eleven. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church for 35 years of his life and an active member at St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Oakland, MD during his retirement years. While living at the lake he played the Trombone for the Garret County Concert Band and the Accident Band from 2000 to 2004 and then again 2007 through 2010. He loved to ski, play golf, run, rollerblade and most of all landscape his many yards over the years. He also went back to school after retirement to learn how to build a web page and built the first one for Garret County United Way. He served on local boards, including the former GCNet, Garret County United Way, Hospice of Garrett County, and the Mountain Laurel Medical Center.Philip was a devoted husband to his wife Sylvia for 65 years, until her death in 2023.Proceeding him in death were his parents, brother Jack, and his beloved grandson Max Critchfield. Philip is survived by his four children and their families: Carol Critchfield (John), Susan Renner (Paul), David Emery (Wendy), Janet Regan (Michael), ten grandchildren and two great grandchildren.A private Celebration of Life will be held in lieu of traditional services.If you would like to donate in his name, please donate to his grandson's scholarship fund: John Maxwell Critchfield Scholarship Fund c/o Delta Tau Delta Educational Foundation, 10000 Allisonville Rd, Fishers, IN 46038.Services arranged by Pritts Funeral Home and Chapel, Westminster.To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.