Wesley Emmons, Jr., a Philadelphia jeweler, died May 23 of
complications from Alzheimer’s, according to his obituary. He was 83.

Emmons graduated from the Philadelphia Museum School of Art with
a bachelor of fine arts in jewelry and silversmithing in 1954. After working as
an apprentice on Jewelers Row for three years, he opened Emmons Jewelers in
Philadlephia in 1954. An avid runner beginning in his forties, he was dubbed the
“Jogging Jeweler.”

During his longtime career, he designed jewelry for Eleanor
Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Buddy Rich, and J. Robert
Oppenheimer.

The University of the Arts in Philadelphia exhibited “Wesley
Emmons: Retrospective” in 2003.

He is survived by his wife, two children, and four
grandchildren.

An online guestbook can be seen here.

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