Submitted photo Terry and Janet Dempsey received the 2018 Sertoma Service to Mankind Award.

NEW ULM — Terry Dempsey is known as New Ulm’s most selfless citizen according to friends, family and those who worked with him on community projects and in politics.

Dempsey died Sept. 2 surrounded by family.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 14 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in New Ulm with visitation an hour prior at the church. An “Irish Farewell” for Terry and his late wife Janet will be held 1-4 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 14 at Turner Hall. All are welcome to attend.

“I can’t say enough good things about him. He was an amazing human being,” said Brown County District Court and Minnesota Court of Appeals Judge John Rodenberg of New Ulm.

A man of many talents, Dempsey was a U.S. Air Force aviator and a lawyer in New Ulm for many years, working as a public defender and was the New Ulm City Attorney for 10 years. He was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 1978, representing all or part of Brown, Cottonwood, Nicollet and Redwood counties. He was re-elected six times, serving as minority leader. Dempsey was appointed a Watonwan County District Court Judge by Gov. Arne Carlson in 1992.

Terry and Janet Dempsey received the 2018 Sertoma Service to Mankind Award for their community dedication and opening their home to children. The Dempseys had one child, Matthew but had more than 15 foster children, eight foreign exchange students and hosted visitors from around the world.

“Terry and Janet were the kind of citizens who were true role models for the rest of us,” said another New Ulm leader, John Illikman of New Ulm.

“I tried cases with and against him. As a legislator, he was instrumental in fixing a bad budget hole as I recall it,” said Rodenberg. “He reached across the aisle and coordinated with members of the other party and got problems fixed. He was a fair and wise judge and man.”

Retired New Ulm Certified Public Accountant Bob Ranweiler called Dempsey “a truly humble man, compassionate, caring, supportive, generous, smart and friend of all.”

Ranweiler said Terry and Janet Dempsey were “a loving couple, both exceptionally strong in their own way, but even stronger together.”

“Any memory of Terry brings back his incredible smile. The look on his face always emanated a ‘how can I help someone’ attitude, proved by his legislative commitment and involvement in numerous community organizations.”

Mary Ellen Domeier of New Ulm described Terry Dempsey as “a great family man, statesman, and a gentleman who lived New Ulm.”

“Perhaps it was his Irish charm, but Terry was persuasive,” Domeier said.

“During his time in the legislature, he asked me to allow him to recommend me to then-governor Jesse Ventura’s Judicial Selection Commission for the Fifth Judicial District,” she added.

“It was not even close to being on my radar screen. But his objective powers of persuasion and sound reasoning resulted in my consent to service in this respect for several years,” said Domeier.

“Terry had a droll sense of humor that could lighten many a tense discussion,” she said. “but it also lent itself to life’s lighter moments. In his love for New Ulm and to the delight of those of us of Germanic or other descent, he and his cohorts off similar bent, i.e. Pat Kneefe, Bill O’Connor, Tom Donnelly, and Kevin Sweeney, planned many an Irish parade for New Ulm, not to mention a hilarious pre-parade news release beforehand.”

Domeier said Terry and Janet were generous to a fault.

“Having been involved in many of New Ulm’s fund-raising efforts, they were always positively responsive to the many causes those represented,” Domeier said. “Whether it was the Catholic school system, their parish of St. Mary’s, the Lind House, the New Ulm Area Foundation, the State Street Theater, or others, their generosity put their fingerprints on many of New Ulm’s worthwhile causes.”