Dempsey Jack Strickland

Dempsey Jack Strickland lovingly known as D. J., passed away peacefully and returned to his Heavenly Father on April 21, 2023, one day shy of his 95th birthday, April 22, 1928. He was born in Spring Creek, LA to the late Dempsey and Ethel Wells Strickland. D.J. moved to Baton Rouge and married the love of his life, Millie Valega. They celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary earlier this year. D.J. began his career at Standard Oil as an electrician, later opening Strickland Electric. He successfully ran the business for over 20 years before he retired. D.J. loved traveling, sports, and watching his grandchildren play ball. He regularly could be found in front of the TV watching his LSU Tigers. He cheered on Billy Cannon’s runback in Tiger Stadium in 1959. He enjoyed raising cattle and gardening on his farm in Pride, LA. He was passionate about providing his entire family with food from his garden and many fruit trees. D.J. was a loving and devoted son, husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. He is survived by his wife, Millie Strickland; children, Vicki Covington (Glenn), Carla Tarver (Bobby), Mike Strickland (Trish) and Dayna Ellis (Randy); 9 grandchildren, Shannon Kirkpatrick (Sean), Kymberly Herrin (Randy), Chris Tarver (Heather), Jeremy Tarver (Brooke), Hayley Felter (Josh), Brandon Strickland (Jill), Staci Strickland, Jason Ellis (Kim), Josh Ellis; sisters, Evelyn Plaisance and Wilda Lockhart, and 22 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents and sister Ruth Johnson-Haley. We would like to thank Claudette Harris for her compassionate care for our dad. The visitation will be Wednesday, April 26th beginning at 10:30am at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church. Mass to follow at 12 noon and the burial will be at Greenoaks Memorial Park.