Necrology

Robert Hunt Empsall '30

May. 18, 1908-May. 2, 2008

Robert Hunt Empsall '30, a onetime department store owner in Malone, NY, near the Canadian border, was born on May 18, 1908, in Watertown, NY. A son of William A. and Clara Crowell Empsall, he moved with his family to Malone at the age of 7, when his father, who had been employed in the family department store in Watertown, decided to establish his own retail business there. Bob Empsall grew up in Malone, where he was graduated from Franklin Academy. He entered Hamilton in 1927 as a sophomore, after a year at St. Stephen's (now Bard) College. He became a member of Psi Upsilon and remained on the Hill for three years.

Following a summer spent in Europe, Bob Empsall joined his father in his retail business, Empsall's Department Store. He later took over the store from his father and continued to operate it until it was sold in 1969. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army Air Corps and was involved with planning for the shipment of supplies in support of the Allied invasion of North Africa.

Bob Empsall remained a lifelong resident of Malone, where he was active in the community. He was a past president of the Malone Rotary Club, member of the Malone school board, and a trustee of Franklin Academy. He also served on the board of the Marine Midland Bank and was a senior warden and vestry member of St. Mark's Episcopal Church. A boating enthusiast who had at one time or another owned several cabin cruisers and sailboats, he enjoyed sailing on the St. Lawrence River and Lake Champlain. In 1978, he realized his lifelong ambition to sail a boat from northern New York all the way to Florida. In more recent years, he succumbed to the lure of the Internet and developed an interest in genealogy. After tracing his ancestry back to a Revolutionary War soldier, he became a member of the Sons of the American Revolution.

Robert H. Empsall died on May 2, 2008, while hospitalized in Potsdam, NY, just two weeks before his 100th birthday. Predeceased in 1967 by his wife, the former Margaret E. Santway, whom he had married in 1941, he is survived by two sons, John S. and William A. Empsall, and three grandchildren.

Necrology Home