Emory, 87, died August 21, 2006, in Merced, California. He was born August 15, 1919, in Ripon, CA. Emory, a farmer at the time, was drafted into Civilian Public Service in February 1942. He was among the first CPS workers to join the smokejumper unit in Montana where he jumped all three years of the program.

He was discharged in 1946 and graduated from Life Bible College in 1967. Emory served as a minister of the Foursquare Churches in Red Bluff and Myers Flat, CA. He also served as Chaplain at the Ft. Bullion Men's Correctional Facility and served as a board member of Child Evangelism with his church. He is buried in Hughson, California.