Colorado State Patrol troopers will honor their agency’s former chief, Col. John N. Dempsey, at his funeral Monday in Littleton.
Dempsey died Tuesday after a long illness, according to troopers. He was 68.
Dempsey spent more than 30 years with the Colorado State Patrol, including 12 years as its chief from March 1983 until his retirement in September 1995.
His funeral will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday at West Bowles Community Church, 12325 W. Bowles Ave.
A native of Maryland, Dempsey came to Colorado to work as a Titan missile mechanic for Martin Marietta Corp. in the early 1960s, according to his official biography on record with the State Patrol.
After a short stint with the Littleton Police Department, Dempsey joined the State Patrol in May 1965, first serving as a patrolman in Grand Junction before rising through the ranks.
Dempsey was appointed to head the Colorado State Patrol on March 1983.
He also had filled in as acting director of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and acting executive director of the Colorado Department of Corrections when those posts were left open during his career, according to his biography.
He is survived by his wife, Pam Sillars, a former deputy director of the Colorado Department of Public Safety; and three daughters, Lynn Hovde, Joy Wentzel and Jan Dempsey-Simkins.
Dempsey-Simkins is an agent of the CBI.
