Tassie Dempsey

WILSON - Katharine "Tassie" Fleming Dempsey, 90, died peacefully Friday, August 31, 2012 at Wilson Pines Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.

"Tassie", as she was known to her family and friends, was born February 28, 1922 in Wilson, the daughter of Charles Mortimer Fleming and Katharine MacNair Fleming. She graduated from Charles L. Coon High School in 1939, where she was elected May Queen during her senior year, and from St. Mary's Junior College in 1941. She was presented by the Terpsichorean Club at the 1940 North Carolina Debutante Ball.

Tassie was very active in her church and community. She was a lifelong member of St. Timothy's Episcopal Church, where she served as a Sunday school teacher, co-chair of the Every Member Canvas and president of the ECW and could be found sitting in the front right pew nearly every Sunday. She was an original member of the Literary Guild Book Club, started in the early 1950s, and was active until the Club's end in 2011. She also was an ardent supporter of the Democratic Party.

Tassie was a loving wife, mother and grandmother to her entire family, who knew her as "Gram". She also was a proud member of another family, the Carolina basketball community, where she was known by all as "Ma D" or "Mama D". Whether serving her signature fried chicken for the players at her famous football tailgates or traveling to support the team at tournaments across the country, Ma D was loved and respected by several generations of Tarheel players, coaches and fans. She attended nearly every Carolina home basketball game for over 45 years and was sad to leave the Dean Dome for her final time after a Tarheel victory over Kentucky in 2009.

Tassie was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, James Carlyle Dempsey, junior; and her son, Julian Lane Dempsey, all of Wilson. She is survived by her sons, James Carlyle Dempsey III, of Raleigh, and Charles Connor Dempsey and wife, Anne Bird Dempsey, of Wilson; her daughter, Katharine Dempsey Rogers and husband, Edgar Eugene Rogers, of Charlotte; her daughter-in-law, Mary Helen Dempsey, of Wilson; her grandchildren, Elizabeth Dempsey Merritt and husband, John Douglas Merritt, junior, of Raleigh; James Carlyle Dempsey IV of Washington, DC; Charles Connor Dempsey, junior of Wilson; Michael Fleming Dempsey of Wilson; and Hunter Lee Rooker of Raleigh; and her great grandchildren, John Douglas Merritt III, George Gilliam Merritt and Jaxon Connor Wright.

The family will receive friends at Tassie's home, 2104 Somerset Drive, Wilson, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Monday, September 3, 2012. A memorial service will be held at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church, Wilson, at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, September 4, 2012 with a reception to follow in the Common Room.

The family requested that in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be made to St. Timothy's Episcopal Church, 202 North Goldsboro Street, Wilson, N.C. 27894.