Dempsey William Petry Sr.

He was born on March 21, 1927, to the late Burl and Delphia Petry in Comfort, one of ten children. He served his country as a sergeant in the United States Army. Upon leaving the military, he chose a life underground in the coal mines to provide for his family. He worked tirelessly for 41 years until retirement from U.S. Steel. He was a loving father, grandfather, and great grandfather, who loved spending time with his beloved dog Smokey. He was known for his beautiful flowers and wonderful gardening skills, as well as his beautiful Christmas displays.

His beloved family included his three precious daughters and their spouses, Pat(Ted) Brennenman, Debbie(David) Samples, and Delphia (Jay) Heiss; and three precious sons, Dempsey Jr. "Buster" (Sharon), Terry (Kelly) and David (Lori); fourteen grandchildren, Scott (Rebecca), Kerrie, Cathy (Clayton), Chad (Sarah), Amber (Jeremy), Jon (Bethany), Kristin (Nick),Chase (Courtney), Joshua, Justin, Caleb, Kenneth, Chris, and Jamie. Seventeen great- grandchildren ; Blair, Leigha, Brennan, Landon, Logan, Beck, Clayton, Colton, Riley, Finley, Carter, Eli, Hayden, Destiny, Jaicee, James, and Eliana. He also is survived by his brother, Jim (Pat) Pettry, as well as his sister, Marie (Charles) Jarrett.

A celebration of life will be held at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, January 17, 2015, at Stevens & Grass Funeral Home, Malden, with the Rev. Terry Damron officiating. The burial with military graveside rites, will follow the service in Tyler Mountain Memory Gardens, Cross Lanes. The honorary pallbearers include, Dempsey Jr., Scott, Chad, Chase, Joshua, Justin, Jeremy, Caleb and Paul Alan.

Visitation will be held from 11:00 a.m. until service time at the funeral home.

Dempsey loved his flowers and the family is accepting flowers or donations.

The family would like to thank Dr. James Pettit and Dr. John rice, for their care and compassion.