A Mass of Christian Burial for Robert Edward Dempsey, 99, of Lexington will held at 10 a.m. Friday, March 12, 2021 at Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church in Purcell. Interment will follow at the Lexington Catholic Cemetery under the direction of the Wilson-Little Funeral Home in Purcell.
Rosary Services will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 11, 2021 at the Wilson-Little Funeral Home Chapel.
Mr. Dempsey passed away Thursday, March 4, 2021 at the VA Medical Center in Oklahoma City.
Robert was born May 30, 1921 in Belmond, Iowa, the oldest of four children born to William Henry Dempsey and Viola Maude (Davenport) Dempsey. He was raised in Belmond and attended school there, graduating with the Class of 1939. In school he was a member of the band and chorus. After high school he helped with the family business of painting and wallpapering.
Robert answered the call of service to his country, and proudly served during World War II. He enlisted in the Army as a Private and was stationed at first to Camp White, Oregon, for basic training. Eventually he was assigned to the 55th Combat Engineers as a painter obtaining the rank of Corporal. His main occupational specialty was Construction Foreman in the Aleutian Islands, specifically, Attu Island. He constructed warehouses and mess halls, supervising and directing the work of 10 men and doing work himself. He served in the Asiatic-Pacific for 20 months before being transferred to Camp Gruber, Oklahoma.
On his return to the mainland, Robert met Alycia Anita Ramsey of Muskogee, Okla., at a USO dance. They married one month before his discharge in October 1945. They moved to Goodell, Iowa, for a time before moving to Oklahoma City where Robert attended business college on the G.I. Bill. After Robert graduated, they moved back to northern Iowa and set up home in Mason City. The Dempseys settled in the Purcell/Lexington area in 1981.
One of his first jobs was with a film company. Robert worked as a computer analyst/programmer for many years with Decker Meat Packing Plant and Reuben H Donnelley Corp. He managed several State Box stores in Iowa. He was in maintenance later at Perfection Hy-Test in Purcell, off and on for 13 years until the age of 73.
He was active as a Boy Scout leader and Order of the Arrow. He served as former President of the Holy Family School PTA. He was a devoted husband, father and grandfather, who lived to see the good in every day. He would tell you that the secret to his happiness and longevity was “Blackberry Brandy”, and he loved to dance any chance he could. He enjoyed pheasant hunting, fishing and camping.
He was a longtime and faithful member of Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church in Purcell and was a member of the Knights of Columbus and the American Legion of Lexington. He will be dearly missed!
He was preceded in death by his wife, Alycia ‘Ann’ Dempsey; daughter, Cynthia Arms of Sulphur; parents, William and Viola Dempsey; sister, Elizabeth Byrnes and brother, Paul Dempsey.
Robert is survived by his daughter, Deanna “De” Drake and husband, Chris, of Fredericksburg, Va.; his boys, Thomas “Tom” Dempsey and wife, Sue, of Mason City, Iowa, John A. Dempsey and wife, Brenda, of Burneyville, Okla., James “Jim” Dempsey and wife, Charlene, of Fort Smith, Ark., Robert “Joe” Dempsey of Oklahoma City and Dennis “Butch” Dempsey of Fort Worth, Texas; sister, Donna Buckley of Clear Lake, Iowa; 10 grandchildren; numerous beloved great-grandchildren and a host of other family and friends.
Online condolences may be made at wilsonlittle.com.
