There are some of you that don’t know that we lost our beloved George (Sat., May 9, 2009). He is now on Eternal Patrol. Geo went very peacefully in his sleep. There will be a Memorial service for him Tuesday, May 19th at the Atascadero Elks Lodge at 12:30 p.m. with a Tri-Tip Lunch to follow.The lodge has a full service R.V. park for those wishing to come early or stay over.

George Dempsey Memorial Service
Tuesday, May 19th @ 12:30 p.m.

Atascadero Elks Lodge #2733
1516 El Camino Real
Atascadero, CA 93422

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

George Phillip Dempsey peacefully passed away while resting on Saturday, May 9, 2009 at Twin Cities Hospital in Templeton, CA - he was 69 years old. In early February this year, lung cancer presented what George called a “speed bump” in the road to his next destination.

Born in Atascadero, CA on July 1, 1939, George was the eldest son of five children born to Theodore and Olive Dempsey. As an adult, George was always quite proud of the house he helped build with his father - he was 12 years old at the time. Trips to the ocean was a favorite family pastime and George would dive for abalone and old ship relics.

After graduating from Atascadero High School in the Class of 1957, George reported for service to his country and to the United States Navy at Treasure Island in San Francisco, California. Hence his travel adventures began. Throughout his 22 year Naval career he was stationed at various ports along the Pacific and Atlantic coastlines, among them Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, New London, Connecticut, California’s Pt. Magu and Charleston, South Carolina. As a submariner he served on the USS Growler (SSG-577) and the USS Ethan Allen (SSBN 608)(Blue). As a sailor George served on the USS Hunley (AS-31). He retired from the United States Navy in 1977 as a Chief Warrant Officer W-3. George is remembered on the USS Growler as it now sits on display as a museum in New York.

Before embarking on his next career, another highlight of George’s life was the six months between his two jobs. This is when he purchased his first motorhome - he named it the Dandy Dingy. With his first wife of 17 years, Mary (Morrison) Dempsey Green and their two kids Tamra and Lance, they crisscrossed the country and together stepped foot in every state sans Iowa, Maine and Alaska. The kids swear not a brown historical marker passed the window without stopping to read it - it was the best History/Social Studies class a kid could ever desire.

George’s next career began in the late 70’s in the medical field as an Electrical Service Engineer applying his knowledge to a pioneering imaging technology called the Cat-Scan. Technicare was the original company he worked for, which was subsequently acquired by General Electric. For 20 years he installed and serviced life-saving CT, MRI and Mamogram machines throughout Central and Southern California.

In 1984 George met his destined soulmate Kathy. Maraschino cherries on top of his Coors Light was all it took. They were married in 1986 and George’s family immediately grew to include Kenny, Keith and Ricky, each of whom regard him as their own Dad.

After his final retirement from General Electric in 1999, he spent the next 10 years traveling the United States of America full-time with his wife Kathy. There were simple goals, spend a few summer months in Bayview Idaho on Lake Pend Oreille (a place they termed “This Is It”), spend a few winter months in Parker Arizona on the Colorado River and avoid Interstate highways if at all possible — the rest was unplanned and lived day by day. Kids and grandchildren, friends, ship reunions, genealogy research, RV rallies and the weather guided their Tiretracks and Footprints as he termed it. Unscheduled visits to family and friends was his calling card, as a phone call from George usually included “We’ll be there next week (or tomorrow).”

George loved hosting BBQ get-togethers for an unlimited assortment of friends and family, woodworking, writing, Coors Light, playing golf, fishing on his pontoon boat, Coors Light, casinos, blackjack, poker, watching Nascar and football games, and Coors Light.

Among George’s keepsakes, his family found an unsigned letter which he had beautifully hand written—the descriptive simply summed up George. It was perfect, except that the missing signature led to speculation over its origin, “Did Dad really write his obituary over 50 years ago?” A quick internet search proved the narrative was not completely unique. The original author is still unknown, and it has been modified by many to describe men from cowboys to sailors. Here is George’s version of “What is a Sailor?” (although his was untitled).

Between the security of childhood and the insecurity of the second childhood we find a fascinating group of humanity called sailors.

Sailors are magical creatures. They can be found anywhere; on ships, at sea, in love, on shore, on bases, in bars and always in debt. They come in assorted sizes, weights and states of sobriety. Girls love them, mothers tolerate them and the government supports them. A sailor is licentious with a deck of cards, brawny tattooed arms and protector of the seas with a copy of Playboy. They have the energy of a turtle, the slyness of a fox, the brains of an idiot, the aspiration of a Casanova and when he wants something it is usually accomplished by a special request chit. Some of his interests are women, dames, females and members of the opposite sex. He dislikes writing letters and wearing his uniform for the “old man” and officers. No on else can cram into one jumper pocket a little black book, a church key, I.D. card, pack of cigarettes, lighter and what’s left of last pay day. He likes to spend some of his money on girls, some on beer, some on poker and the rest foolishly. You can scratch him off your mailing list, but not out of your mind. You can lock him out of your home, but not out of your heart. You might as well give up. He is your long way from home love and your one and only blurry eyed good for nothing bundle of joy and worries. But all shattered dreams become insignificant when your sailor knocks on your door and with those blood-shot eyes looks at you and says – “Hi honey, I’m home, I love you and what’s there to eat.”

George is survived by his wife of 22 years Sarah Loraine Kathleen (Puls) Dempsey; his daughter Tamra Dempsey; his son Steven Lance Dempsey and wife Stacy Dempsey, and their children Decker, Laurel and Maryn Dempsey; his son Ken Davies and his daughter Brianna Davies; his son Keith Korver and wife Sylvia Korver and their son William Korver; his son Arie (Ricky) Korver and wife Kelly Korver and their children Benjamin and Lauren Korver; his mother Olive (Hicks) Dempsey Rougeot; his sister Sharon Hartzell and her husband Dean Hartzell; his sister Olive Dorman and her husband John Dorman; his brother Theodore F. Dempsey and numerous nieces, nephews and friends world-wide who loved him dearly. George was predeceased by his father Theodore E. Dempsey and his brother Eugene L. Dempsey.

George’s corneas were donated to the Northern California Transplant Bank. His family is comforted to know that someone else may now have the ability to see all the wonders of the world he has seen.

An open memorial service will be held in honor of George Dempsey on Tuesday, May 19th at 12:30 p.m. at the Atascadero Elks Lodge. His family will later take him to Hawaii for a military burial at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. George repeatedly brought friends and family here to see some of the most breathtaking views of Oahu from this vantage point called the “Punchbowl” and this will be his final resting place.

Today I was diagnosed to have Stage 4 Adeno Carcinoma and/or Mesothelioma.

Tomorrow, I will begin chemotherapy at Twin Cities Hospital in Templeton, CA near Atascadero, CA, our “home” town.

Kathy and I are very optimistic for a speedy and complete remission of this new challenge that has put bumps in our road to Alaska that was planned for the summer.

I had a two month battle with pneumonia, but, after cleaning up my lungs with antibiotics, Xrays showed the underlying cause to be the Big “C”.

So, now we are on this new venture that we hope will allow the return of our wheels to the highway in the near future and for a lot more miles.

Love Ya all,

George and Kathy

The weather was great as we relaxed for 10 days and then we headed for Yuma and our annual dental appointment in Los Algodones, Mexico.  Within a four-block radius there are more pharmacies, doctors, dentists and opticians than a similar four-block area anywhere else in the world.  And, the service is as good or better than state side.  And, a whole lot less expensive.  We also spent a couple of days with our friends from Washington and again had a great Mandarin dinner at the “Cafe 95″ (see last year).

Fueled at Yuma for a pleasing $2.04 per gallon then back north to Quartzsite for some dry camping on BLM land at Dome Rock.  Ten other rigs joined us for a week of socializing and of course visiting all the exhibits in Quartzsite.  The crowd at the exhibits was very sparse compared to previous years and campers in the desert have a lot more space between them.  Kathy’s brother, Carvel, and wife, Gail also spent a few days with the group.  Unfortunately, I got a case of pneumonia some where along the line and after a lot of coughing, hacking and sleepless nights, finally broke down and went to the Doctor in Blythe.  No urgent care facilities in Blythe so ended up spending four and half-hour at the Emergency Room of the Hospital.  Now, I’m well on my way to recovery but run out of breath easily.  Getting better though ! !

Currently, we are back at Emerald Cove in a “beach” site on the river.  We put the boat in the water and took a cruise on the river with a group of friends from Atascadero that had stopped here for four days to tour the facility.  They didn’t buy into the resort this trip, but maybe later.

Miles Traveled > 13519(2008), 11186 (2007)
Fuel Costs > $6,318.04(2008), $3957.20 (2007)
Fuel Gallons > 1707.6(2008), 1334 (2007
Miles per Gallon > 8.32(2008), 8.21 (2007)
High Price per Gallon - $4.75
Low Price per Gallon - $1.97
Average Paid per Gallon - $3.70 (2008),  $2.97 (2007)

Visited 8 States > CA-38(stops)/199(days), AZ-5/14, NV-3/8
NM- 2/7, TX-10/19, OR- 4/5, WA-5/34, ID-4/66
Campground Costs - $5,165.40
Campground Cost per Day - $14.11
High Campground Price per Night - $90
Low Campground Price per Night - $8.96 (Excluding Free Nights)
Average Campground Price per Night - $23.18 (Excluding Free Nights)