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Gary deLaessoe Emerson died peacefully at his Madison home on March 9. Gary was born in Danbury on Oct. 28, 1932, the son of the late Marion Fernand Emerson and George S. Emerson. Gary attended the St. Peter School and Danbury High School.

He proudly served in the U.S. Marine Corps in the Korean War from 1950 to 1953 and was awarded two Purple Hearts for injuries sustained in combat. Upon his honorable discharge, Gary attended and graduated from New England College, located in Henniker, New Hampshire with a bachelor of science degree in business. He started working for The Cane Company for several years until he opened Emerson Supply, Inc., in 1969 in New Haven, and several other branches in Branford, Stanford, Milford, and West Haven, until opening the Guilford office/warehouse on Boston Post Road. Gary helped start and served on the board of directors for the Shoreline Bank. He also served on the Town of Madison Zoning Board of Appeals and was an elected board member of the Madison Country Club.

Gary enjoyed coaching his children and their friends for the Madison youth sports league and playing golf. He was a past member of the New Haven CC, Madison CC, and Sailfish Point Country Clubs and a current member of the Madison Beach Club and the Stuart Yacht and Country Club, Stuart, Florida.

Gary is survived by his wife, Sandra K. Emerson; two sons, Gary de. Emerson, Jr. (USMC) and Commander Tracy de. Emerson and his wife Leslie, of Norfolk, Virginia; and four stepchildren Ann (Dallas, Texas), Tim (Palm Beach Gardens, Florida), Geoff and Tess (Nashville, Tennessee), and Chris and Cathy Marshall (St. Louis, Missouri). He also is survived by four grandchildren, Sean, Kelly (Jordan), Reid, and John Marshall; three great-grandchildren, Kinsley, Kallie, and Kadin Jordan; and several cousins, nieces, and nephews.

The family would like to thank the VNA Homecare and Hospice for their extraordinary efforts in caring for Gary.

Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. on Friday, March 19, in St. Georges Church, 33 Whitfield Street, Guilford. Burial services will be held privately. In lieu of flowers, contributions in may be made to the VNA Homecare and Hospice, 753 Boston Post Road, Guilford, CT 06437, www.connecticuthomecare.org; The Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 758516, Topeka, Kansas 66675-8516, www.woundedwarriorproject.org; or to the E.C. Scranton Memorial Library, 801 Boston Post Road, Madison, CT 06443, www.scrantonlibrary.org.