Betty B. Dempsey

Betty Jean was born in Lynch, Kentucky on July 18, 1929, to Mr. and Mrs. Frank (Ernesta) Burgess, Sr. She was a student at Lynch Grade School and graduated from Lynch High School in May 1947. She attended Lynch Baptist Church alongside her family. Betty was one of seven siblings, with three older siblings, a sister, Frances, and two brothers, Frank, Jr., and Richard, followed by another three, sister, Katherine (“Kat”), one more brother, James, and baby sister, Patricia (“Patsy”).

Upon graduation Betty moved from Lynch to Berea, Kentucky, to further her education. She attended Berea College for two years. She then sought Federal Civil Service Employment with the Department of the Army at Fort Knox, where she met her husband-to-be, John P. Dempsey, known as Jack, who was stationed there with the US Army during the Korean War conflict.

After dating a few years, Betty and Jack were married on August 19, 1967 in Greenville, Mississippi. They lived in Ipswich, Massachusetts, until 1985 when they retired to live in Fort Pierce, Florida. Betty retired from working for the US Corps. Of Engineers in Massachusetts, as a Financial Technician. They lived together in Ft. Pierce until moving to their retirement community in Brevard County/Viera in the summer of 2021.

Betty and Jack celebrated their 54th wedding anniversary in 2021 and in those years they shared a love of sports. She herself was a semi-amateur bowler, having qualified to compete in a national bowling tournament held in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1963. Betty and Jack bowled together from Kentucky to Massachusetts to Fort Pierce, playing in leagues up until their 80’s. They both loved their New England sports teams, particularly the Boston Red Sox, New England Patriots, and the Boston Celtics. Betty even made the newspaper once when she was decked out in an American Revolutionary War outfit to go to a Patriots game.

The family is blessed to have many pictures thanks to Betty’s love of taking them and of spending time with family and friends. Thanks to her efforts, the “House of Burgesses” held a wonderful family reunion in 1993, hosted at their home also known as “Dempsey World.”

Betty is survived by her husband of 54 years, Jack, her two sisters, Frances Tuggle of Melbourne, Florida, and Patricia Jenkins of Sharon, Massachusetts, and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents and four siblings, Frank, Jr., Kat (Hogg), Rick, and Jim.

Betty Jean Burgess Dempsey will be remembered as a warm, loving sister, aunt, cousin, and friend to many, and will be forever in our hearts.

A gathering of family and friends for Betty will be held Monday, February 7, 2022 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM at Aycock Funeral Home, 6026 North US Highway 1, Fort Pierce, FL 34946. A committal service will occur Monday, February 7, 2022 from 12:45 PM to 1:00 PM at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens, 6026 North Us Highway 1, Fort Pierce, FL 34946. A reception will occur Monday, February 7, 2022 from 1:15 PM to 3:00 PM, 6026 North US Highway 1, Fort Pierce, FL 34946. A celebration of life will occur Monday, February 7, 2022 from 12:00 PM to 12:30 PM, 6026 North US Highway 1, Fort Pierce, FL 34946.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.aycock-hillcrest.com for the Dempsey family.