J R Dempsey, age 85, passed away on Wednesday, December 27, 2017, at his residence in Louisville, Mississippi. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday, December 31, 2017, in the Nowell Massey Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Jimmy Dempsey and Sis. Minnie Dempsey officiating. Visitation will be the day of the service at Nowell Massey Funeral Home from 12 p.m. until service time. Interment will follow in Memorial Park Cemetery.
J R was born in Choctaw County on April 5, 1932, to Walter Bunyan and Sara Pinnix Dempsey. He attended First Pentecostal Church of Noxapater and was retired as a truck driver. He was a very talented man with many self-taught skills in woodworking, painting, and was truly a “jack-of-all-trades.”
J R is survived by his son, Rev. Jimmy Dempsey and wife, Angie, of Louisville; and two daughters, Jan Richardson also of Louisville; and Sharon Davis and husband, Terry, of Weir, Mississippi. He is also survived by three grandchildren: Kimberly Ingram and husband, Stephen; Kayla Fuller and husband, Chase; and Matthew Davis and wife, Lauren; as well as three great-grandchildren, Grayson and Mattie Ingram and Tristan Davis. Also left to mourn the passing of J R is his sister, Minnie Selma Dempsey; as well as a host of nieces and nephews. Mr. Dempsey was preceded in death by his wife of 65 years, Mary Dempsey; his parents; and his siblings, Rev. Austil Dempsey, Sudie Allen, Nora Bell Knighton, Rural Dempsey, Alma Etheridge, Orvil Dempsey, Willard Dempsey, and Fannie Hollis.
Serving as pallbearers will be Matthew Davis, Terry Davis, Gerald Ray Dempsey, Brett Kitchens, Chad Kitchens, and Brandon Stovall. Memorials may be given to West End Baptist Church, 79 Old Robinson Road, Louisville, MS 39339
Services are under the direction of Nowell-Massey Funeral Home, 724 North Columbus Avenue, Louisville, MS. Memories and condolences may be shared with the family by signing the guest register at www.nowellmasseyfuneralhome.com.
