Donald Alton Emmons

Donald Emmons died unexpectedly at his home in Carlisle on August 16, 2026.

Don was born in 1935 into a Quaker family and grew up in Rockville, Maryland. He attended Westtown School (PA), Earlham College (IN) and Washington University (MO) where he earned his PhD in Physics.

He is survived by his wife Susan, siblings Richard Emmons and Nancy Taylor, daughters and sons-in-law, Louisa Emmons and Michael Reeves, Molly and Bryan Sorrows and Sara and Kevin Lamb, and his grandchildren Elisabeth Sorrows Hanson, Katherine Sorrows, Savvie Lamb and Andrew Lamb. He was predeceased by his sisters Helen Marshall and Elisabeth Smith.

Don and Susan met in college and were married for 67 years, first living in St. Louis, MO, and then on Long Island. They moved to Carlisle in 1969 and loved raising their children in this community. He enjoyed gardening, camping and canoeing with his family.

Don was kind, soft-spoken, generous and caring. He was creative, thoughtful and innovative. Family and friends loved his hand cut personalized jigsaw puzzles. He was intelligent, always curious, and especially enjoyed sharing his interests with his family and friends. A favorite activity was tapping the maple trees on their property and producing maple syrup. Playing the 5-string banjo and guitar was another of his favorite pastimes. Visiting his brother and sisters across the country with his family was a favorite vacation.

A job at MIT Lincoln Lab brought him to the Carlisle area and introduced him to his life-long friend Ernie Huber. After 6 years at Lincoln Lab, he worked for more than 40 years at Frequency and Time Systems/Microsemi, designing and building frequency and time standards and atomic clocks. He worked on high precision quartz oscillators and cesium standards for GPS satellites, hydrogen masers used in radio astronomy and other applications. He was very pleased to have obtained four patents for his inventions. Don’s major contribution was his development of manufacturing and test methods to produce devices achieving the highest theoretically possible performance. His colleagues in precision timing technology greatly appreciated that Don was always supportive and ready to explain complex ideas in easily understood language.

He was active in the First Religious Society of Carlisle where he shared his love for singing for many years in the FRS choir. At the church Don shared his talents in fixing tricky maintenance problems, and each week he wound the antique clock.

Don’s quiet, kind, and steadfast presence and support made his family feel loved and cared for. He will always be remembered and missed.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the First Religious Society in Carlisle (27 School Street, Carlisle, MA) or the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC Development, 1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102).

Arrangements have been entrusted to Dee Funeral Home & Cremation Service of Concord.