Emily Wharton

Mystic — Emily Nichols Wharton died Aug. 12, 2020. As a widow, and after living in Stonington for many years, she moved in 2012 to StoneRidge, a Mystic retirement community.

Emily was predeceased by her husband, Charles William Wharton, and leaves two stepsons, Charles W. Wharton Jr. of Newport, R.I., and Leverett B. Wharton of West Warwick, R.I. She is also survived by her brother, Humphrey T. Nichols, and his wife, Carol, of Fairfield and their three sons, Jonathan, Timothy and Christopher Nichols.

The daughter of Frederick H. Nichols and Emily L. Nichols, Emily was born March 19, 1934, in New York City and grew up in Darien. Graduating from Westover School and Bradford Junior College, she continued her education at the Sorbonne, living in Paris for three years while employed by the American Embassy.

Returning to the United States in 1958, Emily lived in New York City, where she worked at the United Nations in the office of the World Veterans Federation, and later at the Farfield Foundation and the African American Labor Center. Looking for a place to spend weekends, she discovered Stonington, eventually moving there and marrying Bill Wharton. For a number of years, she worked for Connecticut College in the Office of Development for Corporate and Foundation Support and then in the Center for International Studies and the Liberal Arts.

Emily was also active in the community, serving as a burgess for the Borough of Stonington, a board member of both the Village Improvement Society and the Historical Society, as chairman of the Stonington Antique Show and as a member of Mystic Aquarium’s advisory board. She followed her personal interests as well, becoming actively involved in the Herb Society of America, the Southeast Connecticut Committee on Foreign Policy and the New England Historic Genealogical Society, where she served as director for many years.