Mathew Robert Dempsey

Mathew was born on August 2nd, 1974 to Karen Rehberger Dempsey & Gus Dempsey in Jeannette, Pennsylvania. Mat grew up in Bellingham, Wa. and started his career as a professional cook in the kitchens of several Bellingham restaurants.

Mat follows his mother and grandparents into the next world and leaves behind his father, Gus Dempsey from Bellingham and his younger sister, Sarah Day from California, as well as uncountable friends whose lives he touched in his unique and loving way.

Mathew, who was called simply Dempsey by his many friends and coworkers, had a big footprint in this world. In his younger years he traveled extensively throughout the western United States. He lived in New Orleans, Austin, New Mexico, California and many other places. The stories of his travels and traveling companions were always entertaining. Mathew could spin a great yarn and never seems to run out of fascinating stories. In Mat's later life, Portland has become his home for more than a decade, working as a cook in several local popular eateries. Over the last 2 years Mathew's health declined due to multiple serious factors and had to fight extremely hard to regain his health. His dedication to getting healthy was nothing short of amazing. It appeared to all that he was going to overcome the physical damages caused by untreated diabetes, heart disease and addiction. Mathew was full of excitement and plans for the future, he had applied to the community college to continue his education and was exploring new careers. Just as it looked as if Mathew would overcome these all these heavy personal and physical challenges, old demons returned and stole his precious life from us.

Mathew's ultimate passion was food. He enjoyed nothing more than feeding people good food. To celebrate his passion, we will hold Mathew's wake as a BBQ and potluck on Saturday 16th at his home, 1314 N. Webster at 2:00-6:00pm. At 6:00pm we will move the gathering to the Kenton Station, since that was one of Mat’s favorite neighborhood places. Dempsey's friends are invited to share food, drink, music and stories in celebration of this beloved man's life.