Former OKC school board member Dempsey dies
Wayne Dempsey, a computer company owner, minister and youth mentor who served on the Oklahoma City School Board for more than a decade, has died.
Dempsey died Wednesday of an acute illness, his family confirmed. He was 64.
Dempsey first won election to the board in the summer of 1992. He served until the fall of 2002, when he lost to challenger Kenny Walker by 28 votes.
Dempsey was known for his direct approach and his ability to get things done, said Frank Kellert Jr., a former school board member who served on the same panel for five years.
“He did get a lot of things done that he set out to do, in terms of reorganizing the district’s legal department and some other administrative functions,” Kellert said Wednesday.
The two often disagreed during a period on the board Kellert described as “contentious.”
“He was very direct. You always knew where you stood, which is fine. It saves a lot of time,” he said. “We were philosophically different. It wasn’t personal. As contentious as it was back then, I still think we saw each other as friends who had a job to do.”
Dempsey was critical of then-Superintendent Arthur Steller, whose actions, policies and approach to certain issues angered some teachers, administrators and school patrons.
Dempsey’s victory in 1992 threatened Steller’s tenure with the district because it put four Steller opponents on the sevenmember board.
“I know Wayne had a vision for the district that we agreed with,” said Ed Allen, president of the Oklahoma City American Federation of Teachers. “We needed different leadership, and he was not afraid to speak his mind. He was not afraid to say that the superintendent at the time maybe wasn’t doing everything right.”
Daughters Tiece Dempsey and Marsha Dempsey Herron called their father “a champion of the people” who was bothered by the segregation he saw when he moved to Oklahoma City from Brooklyn, New York, as a teenager.
“Because of that it compelled him to do whatever he could to assist in alleviating or eliminating that segregation,” Tiece Dempsey said. “He was well-known as a teenager who worked to bring racial equality to Oklahoma City.”
Dempsey first campaigned for a seat on the board as a 20-year-old college student in 1973, 19 years before finally winning election, The Oklahoman reported.
“He wanted to make sure that every child got a quality education, regardless of their socioeconomic status,” Herron said.
Dempsey also unsuccessfully ran for the state House of Representatives.
“Oklahoma City Public Schools extends our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Wayne Dempsey,” Superintendent Aurora Lora said in a statement. “Having served as a member of the OKCPS Board of Education, Mr. Dempsey was passionate about helping young people succeed, mentoring hundreds of OKC youth well into adulthood and hosting foreign exchange students from around the world.
“He has undoubtedly touched many lives, and we will be forever grateful for his service to the students, families and staff of OKCPS.”
Taylor McGuire is a family friend who went to the same elementary school as Dempsey’s daughters. McGuire’s mom taught Tiece and Marsha.
McGuire, 39, said Dempsey provided structure and guidance.
“I was a troubled child, and he took me under his wing,” she recalled Wednesday. “He was incredibly nice and giving. Family meant so much to him.”
A funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Oct. 11 at Wildewood Christian Church, 6900 N Kelley Ave.