S. Thompson Viele

Sheldon Thompson Viele Obituary

Sheldon Thompson Viele, known as Tom, died at his home in York, Maine on August 18th 2020 with family by his side and after a long period of declining health. He was 96.

Born on January 3rd, 1924 in New York City, he was the son of accomplished artist Sheldon K. Viele and mother Louise Chase. His parents, natives of Buffalo New York, moved with their children back to that city within a few years.  The family had deep roots in Buffalo going back to the earliest days of settlement. Tom’s namesake, Sheldon Thompson, was a prominent businessman and in 1840 the first popularly elected mayor of Buffalo. As a descendent of Cornelius Volkertszen Viele, who arrived in Manhattan in the 1600’s as a Dutch settler, Tom was an 11th generation Dutch immigrant.

Growing up in Buffalo, Tom graduated in 1941 from Nichols School and received a business degree from the University of Buffalo. During World War II he served in France and Germany with the U. S. Army’s 274th Infantry.

In 1950 Tom was married to Nancy Emerson in Buffalo’s St Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral and it was in Buffalo that they raised their four children.

His career path in Buffalo started in production management at Sterling Engine followed by fifteen years in sales administration and management at Houdaille Industries. In 1965 he switched careers to advertising as an account executive and copywriter in order to take better advantage of his creative writing and design skills.

The family left Buffalo in 1973 and moved to their summer home in the center of York Village, Maine next to the 1794 Emerson Homestead. There he founded a small company that manufactured and sold technical training equipment on a world-wide basis until selling the operation in 1987. Tom and his wife Nancy moved into the Emerson Homestead in 1982 and became the seventh generation of Emerson family members to have lived there.

Throughout his life, Tom was very active in volunteer work on behalf of innumerable charitable and non-profit organizations in both Buffalo and York.

In 1984 he became the founding president of the Old York Historical Society after working to consolidate the three local historical organizations into one entity. In 2001 they honored him with the title of Trustee Emeritus. In the late 1970’s, when the York Ambulance Association was still all-volunteer, Tom served as an EMT, crew chief, and eventually president.

While a member of St. George’s Episcopal Church he served as a vestryman and senior warden and loved singing in the church choir. In 1982 he spearheaded and managed the moving of the church building from behind the Lancaster Block to its current location on York Street. Other past volunteer offices held include vice president of the York Land Trust and serving on the board of the Greater Portsmouth Community Foundation.     

Skilled at home construction and design, Tom greatly enjoyed performing everything from minor repairs to major renovations on his own property, his children’s homes, and as a volunteer in the community.  Tom and his wife Nancy shared a common passion for world travel, theater, movies, art and music.

In 2004 Tom combined his love of writing and history by authoring and publishing “The Origins of Modern York”, a book that featured historic photographs and quoted interesting local newspaper clippings from 1890 to 1904. 

Tom is survived by his wife of 70 years, Nancy Emerson Viele of York, Maine, as well as his four children, daughter Catherine W. Viele and her husband Michael Delany of Ojo Caliente New Mexico; daughter Lucy L. Viele of Santa Fe, New Mexico; daughter Amy S. Viele and her husband Robert A. van Os of Kittery, Maine; son John E. Viele of Kittery Point, Maine, and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was predeceased by his two sisters, Julie Viele Hines and Katherine Viele Hinshaw and his one brother, Chase Viele.

A private memorial ceremony and burial will be held at a later date. Donations in his memory can be made to the Old York Historical Society.     

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