Phyllis Marie Burr Dempsey

Phyllis Marie Burr Dempsey (May 1930–Dec 14, 2024)

Phyllis' branch of the Burrs came from England to Massachusetts in the 1600s.  In Sandpoint, Idaho, Phyllis Burr Dempsey was born to Lloyd and Irene Burr, as the second of five surviving children.

     Tired of shoveling heavy winter snow at their farm near Fall River in northern California, her father moved the family to a sunny ranch near Woodland in 1937.  Phyl and her siblings rode bicycles 2.3 miles to their two-room schoolhouse with four grades per room.  She and her siblings helped pick the ranch tomato crop due to the WWII manpower shortage.  During summers, the Burr girls worked on almond hullers to earn money for school clothes and sundries.  Phyl enjoyed 4-H projects and helped her Grandma Burr care for Grandpa, a stroke victim.

     While putting herself through college, achieving a Bachelor in Home Economics at UC Davis, Phyllis met Wesley Dempsey.  They married in 1951 in Davis.  In 1954, Wes began a 38-year career at CSU Chico as a Professor of agriculture, genetics and biology.  The Dempseys started a family in 1953 and bought a home in a new Chico subdivision in 1957 within easy reach of good fishing and backpacking.  Phyl worked part time as a lab assistant before and after the birth of their first child. As a diligent homemaker, Phyllis energetically raised four active boys.  As the boys grew, fun family trips explored California deserts, the high Sierra, national parks and Mexico.

      Wes' academic sabbaticals took them to Madison, Wisconsin (1963) and Pennsylvania State University (1970), and visiting Professorships at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand (1981) and the University of Western Australia at Perth (1987). 

     Wes and Phyl enjoyed many adventures in retirement, traveling in their small RVs.  They hiked in the Galapagos Islands, Patagonia, Switzerland and the Cornish Coast of England.  They bicycled in Denmark, France, and Austria, and explored the Philippines and the Great Wall in China.  Back at home, Phyl enjoyed gardening, sewing, intricate quilting, family history, and being a DIYer, such as woodworking and auto mechanics.  

     Phyllis (94) passed peacefully on December 14 with family and caregivers present at her Chico apartment.  She experienced a rich and full life.  Descendents are David (d.2020) (Rebecca Douglass) and their children Kyra and Griffen (Mariana);  Thomas (Carol); Paul (Leslie) and his sons Ian, Tristan, and Duncan (Brittney, son Wyatt); and James (Sally Martin).