Norman Thomas Dempsey Jr.

Norman Thomas Dempsey, Jr., or “Tom” as he is better known, was a loving husband, father, and devoted friend and neighbor. He loved helping others, was the epitome of “self-sufficiency”, and was deeply devoted to his wife, June. He was born on November 18th, 1943, in Newark, Delaware and lived there until 2011 when he and June moved to Conroe, TX.

Tom was preceded in death by his beloved wife, June Dempsey, his father, Norman Thomas Dempsey, Sr. and his mother, Dorothy Eastburn Dempsey (Newark, DE). He is survived by his brother, Rodney Dempsey (Newark, DE), niece Crystal Dempsey (Newark, DE), son, Chris Dempsey (wife Ginger) and his two granddaughters, Molly Dempsey and Gretchen Dempsey (Christiansburg, VA) and dear friends, Judy Hatfield and Whit and Dana Fields.

Tom was a proud Navy veteran, serving two tours in Vietnam. His first tour was served on the U.S.S. Pine Island, and his second on the U.S.S. Ticonderoga. He was also a member of the Delaware Grange and the Delaware Redmen as well as a past member of Ebenezer United Methodist Church in Newark, DE.

Tom could do just about anything he put his mind to. His family and friends knew him not just as an engineer at work, but also a self-sufficient engineer at home. He restored a 1957 Chevy Bel-Air Convertible from the ground up (Frame off Restoration). He purchased this car for $500 while serving in the Navy…a car that would come to serve the entire ship as a “loaner” vehicle so his fellow shipmates could get into town when on leave. He also designed and built his own house in Newark, DE (Corner Ketch), complete with a custom-built indoor swimming pool that was heated with a custom filtration system he designed himself. There was simply nothing that Tom couldn’t do working with his mind and his own two hands.

Tom’s career was as an accomplished electrical engineer. He led projects and teams with companies like Spitz Space Systems, Dupont, Dade Behring, and Siemens. Tom started his work at Spitz Space Systems where he worked on a team of engineers designing and building planetariums. While there, he built “Star Balls” that mapped and projected constellations as well as the computer systems and software that would run them. Following his work with Spitz, he moved to Dupont where he was primarily responsible for pioneering the technology that would become our modern-day blood testing equipment. As he moved from Dupont to Dade Behring and finally to Siemens, this area of medical technology would come to define his successful career as he continually worked to perfect this technology for our medical community. Over his career, Tom would come to oversee his own engineering divisions that were dedicated to advancing blood testing technology. In doing so, he managed and provided leadership to countless engineers toward this goal.

Tom will be deeply missed by his family, friends, and his Conroe neighbors who loved and cared for him so well. Funeral services will take place on Wednesday, January 29, 2025 at 10:00 am in the Mausoleum at Garden Park Cemetery.