Donald George Dempsey was born in Las Vegas, New Mexico on February 5, 1946, and passed away on September 23, 2021, at his home in Grapevine, Texas at the age of 75. He had one sibling, his brother Richard Dempsey who preceded him in death.
His father, Frank, worked in car sales and his mother, Alta Lisenbee, worked as a hotel employee. He moved with his family to El Paso in 1956 when his father started a new business selling construction machinery. Don attended Burgess High School in El Paso where he excelled in academics, lettered in tennis and built and flew radio-controlled airplanes. Don loved everything technical, complex and challenging.
After high school he went on to earn a degree in physics from Texas Western College (now known as UTEP). With the Vietnam War at its peak, Don joined the Air Force and trained as a fighter pilot at Lackland AFB. Days before his final flight training, the Air Force downsized their mission in Southeast Asia and Don was reassigned as a Launch Commander for ICBMs in Minot, North Dakota. Don recently recounted how he had personally launched a test missile from North Dakota. He was a perfect choice for the responsibility as the person controlling our defense system during the Cold War.
He left the Air Force in 1972 and continued his education, obtaining a master’s degree and Doctorate in Physics and Astronomy from the University of Texas. Don worked for Bell Labs, Rockwell, Nokia and longest at Alcatel, all communication technology companies. He was heavily involved in initial research into semiconductors and went on to work on development of the technology that is on every cell phone and computer router in the world. Although his family would have described Don as a quiet man with an ultra-dry sense of humor, his Alcatal colleagues described him as a respected technology manager with an occasionally boisterous enthusiasm. During his life he built all computers and network systems in his house and fully embraced every new home and personal technology application, always expanding his reach with the latest gadgets right up to his passing. He held patents and published numerous technical papers that are far too complicated to describe.
Don was an avid science fiction fan his whole life. His home library included 700 science fiction books. He maintained a similar sci fi video collection. He was a life-long sports car enthusiast, opting for standard transmissions muscle cars for his entire life. His first sports car was a 1968 Triumph, and he only recently sold his Mazda Miata. Don was a quiet soft-spoken man who lived a full and interesting life.
Don lived with his cousin and best friend, Alta Harbin, until her passing in January of 2020. He is survived by his nephews Richard Dempsey Jr, Robert Dempsey and nieces Julie O’Keefe and Laurie Fitzpatrick. Arrangements for a memorial service are pending.
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