Sheryll Sue Dempsey
Born in Astoria, Oregon 8/18/46
Departed from San Antonio, Texas 1/1/10
Once hailed as a “chain smoking maverick” from local newspapers, Sheryll S. Dempsey, who was a small town attorney* practicing in San Patricio County for over a decade, died January 1, 2010 surrounded by loved ones.
It is an honest statement that everyone who met Sheryll had strong feelings for her, one way or another. She was opinionated, and did not pull punches. She fought for what she believed in, and never backed down. Sheryll was passionate about every endeavor that she undertook, whether it be family law, and “getting men custody of their kids,” which was one of her personal preferences as she was such a daddy’s girl; or ‘supporting’ the local Indian Casinos, ever proud of her Cherokee heritage. In her time as an attorney she served as part time judge, ran for several elected positions, and made a name for herself as the first female attorney in San Patricio, always bucking the ‘good ole boy’ system.
What many do not know is that she was an honored veteran, serving as a Naval Officer and Registered Nurse before becoming an attorney. She was the oldest of seven, and went into the Navy so she could send money home to her struggling family. After retiring from law, she assisted her partner of fifteen years, Allen Novosad, with their owner-operator big-rig, often stating that she loved being paid to travel the US and see the sights.
Sheryll is survived by her daughter, Rachyll Dempsey, Psy.D., her son, Aaron Koger, and his three children Jackson, Madison, and Joaquin. She will be terribly missed by her partner, Allen Novosad, and many friends.
In lieu of flowers or gifts, the family humbly requests that you make a donation in Sheryll’s name to one of her favorite charities, or the charity that is now being established in her name. Sheryll gave annually to St. Mary’s University, San Antonio, Texas, where she received her Law Degree. Sheryll was also an avid reader, observed to read between six and eight books a week and she always gave to her local library. The Sheryll Dempsey Scholarship has been established in her honor.
Submit an Entry(16)
Happy Birthday to you next week on August 18,2013 !!! Think about you often !!!! Enjoy hearing from your daughter Rachyll and sister Laura . Love, Penny
What a year so far!!!!! January 31,2012, I retired from my job at Atwood and got on S.S. What an experience!!! Gary got on S.S. Dec 2011. In March, my sister Lois and I went on a trip to California. We got to met your Daughter Rachyll and her husband David after we went to L.A. and visited with our cousin Larry lee Killian and wife Bea. Then we came home thru Salt Lake City and got to meet Beverly's daughter Tracy.We were got 15 days and had a great time !!!!! June 11 had my left knee replaced. December 3rd plan to get the right knee done , since it's also completely wore out !!!!! Still miss you each and every day !!!!!!!
Dear Sheryll Sue, In 15 work days I will be retired from working with the mentally handicapped adults at Atwood, will miss my 8 people greatly but it is time for the next chapter of my life. Gary and I are really excited about it. We just bought our 1st new car in 39 yrs of marriage!!! This spring I will be driving my John Deere tractor and helping Gary farm !!! Got a couple trips planned before we start farming in April. Still miss you each and every day !!!! Love, your 1st cousin, Penny Fern
Got mixed up on dates last night-- it's been 2 years since you left us here on earth !!!! It's still so hard to believe !!!!! Wish we could have come to Texas, like we talked about before you got sick. You are always in my thoughts and prayers !!!! Love, Your 1st cousin, Penny Fern
New Year Day 2012~~~ It was a year ago today when Allen called me and told me you passed away!!!!!!! Hard to believe it's been a year already !!! You are always in my thoughts!!!! Love, Your 1st cousin Penny F. Loker
Dear Cousin Sheryll, Still miss you each and every day !!! Also you letters from all over when you were trucking !!! I'm in touch with your daughter, and two of your sisters, Laura and Mary Ann. Laura and her husband Britt are a wonderful couple!!! Getting ready to retire January 31sr, 2012. Won't be long until Christmas now-- Love, Penny Fern
Dear cousin Sheryll,
Lois and I got to met your youngest sister, Laura on May 27th.2011
She is an amazing young lady and has a wonderful husband.
Hard to believe that tomorrow is July 4th, 2011, Still think about you often!!!
Love, Your 1st cousin Penny Fern
This is an incredible legacy to leave. This is really something I hope to emulate one day...thank you for sharing their stories.
A year ago today, got a call from Allen that Sheryll had past away. When I ask him what happened, he said that she died of cancer.She never told me she was sick, so I took the news very hard. It's hard to believe that a year has passed by already. Love Penny Fern
Dear cousin Sheryll,
It's hard to believe this was your 1st Christmas in Heaven 12/25/2010.
Still miss all your cards and letters. Will never forget the fun times we
had when we were young-- like riding the horse. Take Care !!!!
All my love, your 1st cousin Penny Fern
Several of my messages have been lost so will try to add some new ones. Sheryll and I were always together when we were very young. Our Dad's were brother's and our two families were always together. When we were 9 years old our Dad's had a falling out so the two families split and we never saw each other again. In 1999, I got Sheryll's address from Aunt Ruby and we started writting to each other.That is when we found out we were both on the road trucking !!!!! What a small world. Our paths never crossed because Allen and Sheryll mostly stays south and back East. We traveled alot from Illinois to California, Oregon and Washington. We were on I-80 alot. Gary and I trucked across country for 22 years. Love Penny
When we were real little Uncle Vernon took Sheryll, Gloria and myself to Russell to get one of our polio shots. He told us if we didn't cry he would buy us each an ice cream cone. Remember Sheryll and I holding hands and encourging each other not to cry !!!! Boy that was one of the best ice cream cones we ever had !!!!! Love Penny Fern
Dear Sheryll-- It broke my heart when we got the phone call last New Years Day that you had passed away from cancer. Still miss your letters and post cards. Sure wish that we had run across each other when we were both trucking, but it was not meant to be !!!!
Later, Love your 1st cousin Penny Fern Rounkles Loker.
Unfortunately, we recently lost some of the entries in Sheryll Dempsey's Guestbook. This has prompted us to move to the new guestbook system which you are currently using, to insure this does not happen again. The error has been corrected, and those entries which we were able to restore have been added.
I love my sweet little cousin in the pigtails. May she rest peacefully in heaven with the angels. Lois Jean [Rounkles] Bonar
Ah Mom... Thank you for teaching me how to be so strong in a crisis. I am proud of who I am today, and know that much of that came from you. I hope that this guestbook will be filled with loving memories (and maybe a few not - so - fond ones) from people whom you have affected. Every day is a day to seize the joy from and live to the fullest.
