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Who is Tom Emberton's widow? Former Kentucky judge dies at 90 after 'heroically' saving wife from house fire

Emberton reportedly helped his wife Julia C Emberton in getting out of their home but went back inside in an effort to save the house from fire and failed to exit

BY PRAGATI PRIYA

UPDATED OCT 21, 2022

Tom Emberton was a former Republican candidate for governor of Kentucky and top judge of the state's Court of Appeals (Western Kentucky University)

EDMOND, KENTUCKY: Tom Emberton, a former Republican candidate for governor of Kentucky and subsequently top judge of the state's Court of Appeals, died in a home fire on October 20, 2022, according to authorities. Emberton's home went up in flames at around 3:30 am, Larry Wilson, the coroner for Metcalfe County, said. Wilson said that Emberton helped in getting his wife Julia C Emberton out of the house before going back inside and failing to exit. Emberton was 90.

Leigh Anne Hiatt, a spokeswoman, stated that Kentucky Chief Justice John D Minton Jr announced Emberton's demise in his State of the Judiciary address, according to US News. The fire, according to Edmonton Mayor Doug Smith, was unintentional. “Tom heroically made certain his wife Julia made it to safety but lost his life during his effort to save their home,” Smith told WBKO-TV.

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Who is Tom Embberton's widow?

According to reports, Tom Emberton and his wife Julia were married for 65 years. The couple had two children -- Tom Emberton Jr and Laura Emberton Owens -- and five grandchildren.

Emberton was reportedly a lawyer from Metcalfe County who campaigned for governor in 1971 and was chosen to serve on the Court of Appeals in 1987. Until his retirement in 2004, he was twice re-elected and served as the appellate court's main judge, according to Mitch McConnell, the head of the Republican Party in the US Senate.

“Tom gave me one of my earliest experiences in the rough and tumble reality of political campaigning, hiring me to work on his 1971 gubernatorial campaign,” McConnell said, according to the New York Post. “He taught me valuable lessons on public service and running as a statewide Republican in Kentucky,” the leader added.

Emberton worked as a Public Service Commission member during the Nunn administration prior to his run for governor. In 1980, Hal Rogers of Somerset in Pulaski County, who now holds the seat, won the primary over Emberton in Kentucky's 5th congressional district.

Emberton was chosen by Democratic Governor Wallace Wilkinson to fill a seat on the Kentucky Court of Appeals in 1987. Up until his retirement in 2004, he served in that capacity.

Emberton resided in Edmonton, the county seat of Metcalfe County in southern Kentucky. He was born in Tompkinsville, Kentucky 1932. He attended Western Kentucky University before enrolling at the University of Louisville School of Law, where he graduated in 1962 and was subsequently enrolled to the bar. From 1966 to 1967, he was Metcalfe County's county attorney.