Robert Howard Dempsey

Dr. Robert Howard Dempsey died August 23, 2019, in Yakima, Washington, rich in years and wisdom. Known to family and friends as “Howie,” he touched a legion of lives with his stoicism, intellect and gentle nature.

Howie was born on November 22, 1923, in Freewater, Oregon to Stillman and Winnie Catherine Dempsey. He joined a brother, William, and the family first lived on an apple ranch owned by his mother’s father, S.S. Shields.

Howie recalled an idyllic childhood which included a fishing stream running through his backyard, endeavors to make the perfect sling shot, forts built from found boards and whistling through his evening paper route. He received his first amateur radio operator’s license at the age of fifteen and maintained the same call sign – W7HQC – throughout most of his hamming years. Building and operating radio equipment to communicate with fellow radio enthusiasts around the globe became a lifelong passion.

Upon graduation from high school, Howie entered Oregon State College where he pledged Pi Kappa Phi fraternity.

With World War II underway, Howie entered the United States Army in May 1944 and rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army Signal Corps (Liberation of France, Battle of the Bulge, Liberation of Germany). He lost two comrades as they served side-by-side with him in the decisive southern flank of the Battle of the Bulge. Those men always remained in his heart and prayers.

Upon returning home, Howie enrolled at the University of Oregon, later entering the University of Oregon Dental School in 1949. In 1956, he became a member of the University of Washington orthodontic class of 1958 and graduated with a Master of Dental Science degree.

On August 25, 1957, Howie married Lorna Alice Campbell of Selah in the First Presbyterian Church (now Grace of Christ) of Yakima. Following graduation, Howie and Lorna returned to Yakima to make their home. Two sons, Robert Howard Dempsey II and Paul Campbell Dempsey, were blessed by his steady hand and unwavering support, as well as by his profound pride in their lives.

Howie began his orthodontic practice in Yakima in 1958 and retired in 1987. Many years later, former patients would seek him out to display their “Dr. Dempsey” smiles.

Howie was introduced to golf while still on active duty in Europe, following the Allied victory in 1945. He was a first-rate player for several decades. It was fitting, therefore, that following his retirement from dentistry, Howie became the first Apple Tree Golf Course Marshall. He rode the cart paths from 1993 until 2011, making friends on the greens and in the clubhouse. It was a “second career” that brought him a whole new world of friends and colleagues.

Howie is survived by his wife Lorna of Yakima; son Rob and wife Tracy of Abilene, Texas; son Paul of Yakima; and five grandchildren of Texas: Joshua, Bethany, Jordan, Jonathan Luke and Bre. Howie was predeceased by his parents and his brother William.

Howie found great wisdom in these words of Presbyterian minister Reverend Charles L. Orr: “One thing that can be said about your life and mine is that we are always in motion. We are forever changing, leaving one kind of time for another, one job for another, one set of friends for the next until we come to the last of our times and places.” Howard came faithfully and bravely to the end of his times and places.

A private family service of Christian Burial will be held at Grace of Christ Presbyterian Church at a later date.

Memorial contributions may be made to the First Tee of Central Washington or the Veterans of Foreign Wars.