Darrell Dempsey Dodds passed from this life to eternal life in heaven with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ on December 30, 2021, at the age of 91 in Memphis, Tennessee. Dempsey is survived by the love of his life, Joyce, his daughters, Donna Gaines (Steve) of Memphis, Tennessee; Lisa Potts (Craig) of Clearwater, Florida; and Julie Rosenberger (Scott) of Memphis, Tennessee; brother, Billy Ralph Dodds (Misook), of Bolivar, Tennessee; honorary brother, Steve Vaughan (Jackie), of Memphis, Tennessee; 10 grandchildren and 17 great grandchildren. Dempsey was preceded in death by his six siblings, Louise Dodds Lambert, Charles (C.W.) William Dodds, Vernon Joe Dodds, Faye Dodds Louis, Nadine Dodds Lehman.
Dempsey was born in Potts Camp, Mississippi on Feb 1, 1930, to Effie Lee and Charles Thomas Dodds. He attended Central High School through the 10th grade. His family moved to Horn Lake where he graduated from Horn Lake High School in 1949. Dempsey was an excellent athlete, playing football, baseball and basketball. He was drafted into the Army in December 1950 at the age of 20 years old. He served in the Army as a Supply Sergeant and as Battalion Radio Chief in the Korean War for two years. Following the war, he joined E.I. DuPont where he had a forty year career as an area manager. He retired from Dupont at the age of 62 and enjoyed 30 full years of fishing, boating, and enjoying his many grandchildren and great grandchildren. Dempsey’s life was characterized by love for the Lord, his family and his church. At Bellevue Baptist he served as a deacon and volunteered in Car Care Ministry, Disaster Relief, Counseling, Evangelism Explosion, Nursery, VBS, Truck Stop ministry, Prison ministry, and at Shepherds Haven and ARISE2Read. He was trained in Evangelism Explosion in 2000 and was a diligent witness for Christ. By 2016 he had recorded over 420 professions of faith. His family will miss most his wise counsel and witty humor.
A memorial service celebrating Dempsey’s life will be held at Bellevue Baptist Church on Monday, January 3, 2022 with visitation at 10:30 a.m. followed by a memorial service at 12:00 p.m. A private graveside service will be held following the funeral. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to ARISE2Read (Arise2read.org) or Shepherd’s Haven (shepherdshaven.org).
To view the service live go to http://www.bellevue.org/live/community
