NEWS: U.S.
Former Kentucky litigation court judge dies in house fire after helping wife escape

Ken­tucky Guber­na­to­r­i­al can­di­date Tom Ember­ton, who lat­er became Chief of the State Court of Appeals, died Thurs­day in a house fire, offi­cials said.

Met­calfe Coun­ty Coro­ner Lar­ry Wil­son said the fire was dis­cov­ered around 3:30 a.m. Ember­ton res­cued his wife, but then he went back inside the house and he could­n’t get out, Wil­son said. Ember­ton was in his eighties.

Chief Jus­tice John D. Minton Jr. of the Ken­tucky Supreme Court announced Ember­ton’s death in court, said spokesman Lee Ann Hyatt.

Edmon­ton May­or Doug Smith said the fire was accidental.

“Tom hero­ical­ly car­ried his wife Julia to safe­ty but lost her life try­ing to pro­tect her home,” Smith said in a state­ment to Bowl­ing Green’s WBKO-TV. rice field.

A for­mer Met­calfe Coun­ty attor­ney, Ember­ton ran for gov­er­nor in 1971 and was appoint­ed to the Court of Appeals in 1987. He won reelec­tion twice and served as chief of the Court of Appeals until his retire­ment in 2004, said Sen­ate Repub­li­can leader Mitch McConnell.

“Tom hired me for his guber­na­to­r­i­al cam­paign in 1971 and gave me my first expe­ri­ence of the harsh real­i­ties of polit­i­cal cam­paign­ing,” McConnell said in a state­ment. “He has giv­en me valu­able lessons on pub­lic ser­vice and how to run as a Repub­li­can at the state lev­el in Kentucky.”

Ember­ton also has chil­dren Lau­ra Ember­ton Owens and Tom Ember­ton Jr.