North Adams Native, Vermont General Buried With Honors
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A cannonade from the Veterans Circle at Southview Cemetery blasted a final farewell on Friday to city native and longtime businessman John M. Dempsey Sr.
Dempsey died on Saturday at age 81.
Better known to his friends as Jack, his family business Martin's Shoe Store had been a mainstay in North Adams for more than 60 years.
Mayor Richard Alcombright said he had known Dempsey since his store had been next to Hoosac Bank, where Alcombright had worked for many years.
"He was 'Mr. Dempsey' for quite a long time before I called him Jack," he said. The mayor credited Dempsey for continuing to operate his local shoe store until 2002, long after his competitors shuttered in the face of a changing economy.
"He probably hung in longer than he needed to as the economy started to turn down after the mills," he said. "He was one of those guys who hung in there for the good of the community and the city."
Dempsey had long been involved with the city's economic health, serving for decades on the former Chamber of Commerce of Greater North Adams and is successor, the Northern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce. He was last involved with the former Downtown Development Inc.
"I considered him a mentor," said City Councilor Lisa Blackmer, who had worked with Dempsey at DDI. She remembered "taking a leap" into development work after years in banking and human resources and how helpful he had been. "I worked for him for a little over year, then stayed on the board and in contact with him."
But it wasn't his years in business that prompted the cannonade. Dempsey was getting a full military sendoff suitable to a man of his rank: brigadier general.
He'd joined the Army after graduating from Norwich University with a bachelor's degree in business in 1956. He followed up his tour by joining the Vermont National Guard, initially serving in Bennington with the 86th Engineering Company, but began climbing the ranks after being assigned as a liaison officer to the 86th Armored Brigade in Burlington. He became brigade commander and retired as brigadier general of the 50th Armored Division in 1988.
An honor guard of local veterans groups were at St. Elizabeth's Church to escort him to the cemetery, where members of the Vermont and Massachusetts National Guard fired a salute and presented flags to his children: Carrie Alibozek, John M. Dempsey Jr. and Eileen Clark. The three howitzers were brought up from Fall River for the booming 11-gun salute due a brigadier general.
Retired Brig. Gen. Paul G. Smith, Massachusett's highest-ranking National Guard officer until retiring two years ago after 35 years, said the service was unusual in that it included both Vermont and Massachusetts guardsmen.
"This is a wonderful sendoff for a gentleman who served his nation for so many years," he said.
"It's overwhelming," said Alibozek after the service. "It just warms my heart that so many people respected him and came to honor him."
Alibozek said most people recognized him as the owner of Martin's — "Everybody was a customer" — but he'd done a lot more in his 81 years.
"You know he'd love this whole thing," she said, with tears. "He went out with bang"
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