Joan Dempsey, 85, Portsmouth, NH

PORTSMOUTH, NH --Joan Dempsey, born May 19th 1938, passed away peacefully today, June 9, 2023, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, surrounded by her loving family.

Joan was a devout Catholic. She was a dedicated wife, mother, sister, grandmother, and aunt. She had beautiful blue-green eyes, an infectious laugh, and was kind to everyone she met.

Joan always treated others with respect and dignity and always advised her sons to always “Be Nice.”

Joan developed an early love of sports as a child growing up across from a New York City Park, on Valentine Avenue in the Bronx, New York; where she excelled in sports like handball and basketball.

Along with sports, music, especially jazz and contemporary music were great passions in her life. Joan had an extensive record album collection and especially enjoyed listening to live music. She always kept up with the latest releases and loved to dance, laugh, and joke around with her friends and family. She always made everyone around her laugh and feel special.

Joan loved to drive fast sports cars – especially convertibles. She was a world traveler.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Joan, along with her best girlfriends, would make weekend road trips out of New York City in her Nash Rambler. The girls would drive to places like the Long Islands Hamptons, the Jersey Shore, and to the Newport Jazz Festival. Joan also flew to Acapulco, Mexico with her girlfriends and flew to see her sister, Gloria Sarnicola and her brother, Edward De Leo who were living in Los Angeles, California in the early 1960s.

Joan and William raised three sons, whom they would continue to travel with on vacations both domestically and internationally. Joan and Bill would take their boys on camping adventures in their 1970 Volkswagen Campervan to places like The Everglades, The Florida Keys, and Maine’s Acadia National Park.

Joan was an avid reader. Her favorite author was Ernest Hemingway. Joan was a tremendous teacher of values and character. She practiced what she preached and often used books like Aesop's Fables to teach her son’s valuable life lessons.

After the boys were grown, Joan and Bill made several international trips with their life-long-friends to France, Italy, and Ireland. They lived in Dubrovnik, Croatia for a few years in the 1990s; where Joan quickly made friends with her charming personality and exceptional tennis skills.

Joan and Bill, along with their three sons, lived mostly in Upstate New York college towns like Plattsburg, Kingston, Potsdam and Rochester.

The family also lived in Pennington, New Jersey, -- where Joan studied social work at Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey – knowledge that would help her hone her parenting skills, while raising three boys during the 1970s and 80s.

Joan is survived by her loving Husband, Bill; her three sons, Timothy Dempsey, Brian Dempsey, and Christopher Dempsey. She is survived by her beloved Daughter-in-Law, Barbara Dempsey and by five grandchildren, Isabella Dempsey, Jack Dempsey, Liam Dempsey, Ryan Dempsey, and Luke Dempsey.

A Mass of Christian Burial which is private for the family was celebrated on Friday, July 7, 2023 at 11:00 AM at St. Michael Church, 9 Lincoln St., Exeter, NH.

Burial followed in the Exeter Cemetery.

A celebration of her life will be held the weekend of the 3rd of November at a restaurant in Naples, FL. further details to be announced when determined.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to the St. Michael Church.

For more information, visit www.brewittfuneralhome.com