DEBORAH DEMPESY February 17, 1954 – June 5, 2016

Deborah “Deb” Dempesy, 62, of Plymouth MA, died peacefully on June 5, 2016. Her family and friends fondly called her the “Miracle Girl” as she fought a two-and-a-half year battle with pancreatic cancer.

Born in Houston, TX and raised in Amherst MA, she was the oldest of four children. She attended Amherst Public schools, obtained her undergraduate degree in Anthropology from Beloit College in 1974, and her Masters Degree in Audiology from Northwestern University in 1981, where she graduated top of her class. She obtained her Doctorate in Audiology in 2007 from Salus University in PA.

“Dr. Deb,” as she was known, was on the Board of the Massachusetts Academy of Audiology and a member of the American Academy of Audiology, the Academy of Doctors of Audiology, and the American Tinnitus Association. She was director of Audiology at the Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital for 14 years, and then worked in a private audiology practice. Just before opening her Audiology practice in Plymouth, MA, she was the New England Regional Manager for Oticon, a major manufacturer of hearing devices. However, Deb missed private practice and working with the public to help people hear and live better lives. She purchased All Ears Hearing, dba Dempesy Audiology LLC, in Plymouth in 2008. She successfully expanded her business, earning the trust of those who went to her for hearing assistance. With great sadness, she sold her business in 2014, unable to manage caring for patients while she herself was receiving treatment for cancer.

Deb is survived by her spouse, Dorothy Drago; her daughter, Rebecca; her parents, Dorothy B. Dempesy and Colby “Skip” W. Dempesy; and her siblings, Victoria and Matthew. Deb’s younger sister, Kimberly, died of pancreatic cancer in 2006.

Deb loved the ocean. She was a sea kayaker, and belonged to five kayaking clubs from Maine to Rhode Island. She enjoyed her 18 ft. ocean kayak, “Athena,” and took many trips off the coast of New England with her. Her favorite ocean trips were to the Isle of Shoals in New Hampshire, across the sound to Martha’s Vineyard, and visiting lighthouses all along the coast.

Deb had a history of clinical depression, which she overcame in her early 40s. She wishes to leave a hopeful legacy for all those who are affected by major depressive episodes. And mostly she wants to leave hope for those with cancer, especially Stage IV cancer. “You have to find your new normal,” she says. “Enjoy life to the fullest – you have 86,000 seconds in the day to make your life count.”



Deb’s ashes will be spread according to her wishes. There will be no formal funeral services. Please consider a donation in Deb’s memory to: Cranberry Hospice, 36 Cordage Park Circle, Suite 326, Plymouth, MA 02360; the Lustgarten Foundation, 1111 Stewart Ave., Bethpage, NY 11714; or The Moore Center for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Office of External Affairs-Development, 615 N. Wolfe Street, E2132, Baltimore, MD 21205 (make checks payable to Johns Hopkins University).

“Good Friends are like stars. You don’t always see them, but you know they’re always there.” Anon.