Dempsey Prappas

DEMPSEY PRAPPAS

Iowa City

Dempsey (Demosthenes) James Prappas died peacefully at home on Saturday, April 18, 2015, in Iowa City.

He was the son of Greek immigrants born Nov. 11, 1924, in Detroit, Mich., to Antigone Lewis Prappas from Mytilini, Greece, and James Prappas from Pergamos, Asia Minor. He attended Detroit Eastern High School in Michigan and graduated in June 1943. As a child during the Great Depression, he had a paper route and also worked in his dad's fish market. After high school, he enrolled in Wayne State University in Detroit. His college career was interrupted when he was drafted and entered the Army on July 19, 1943, expecting and hoping to join the Air Force, but he discovered he was color blind. While at Fort Custer, Mich., he volunteered to join the Greek Battalion in Camp Carson, Colo., where he learned Greek. When the battalion was dismantled, he was transferred to the 80th Infantry Division where he joined the 317th Anti-Tank Company as a corporal. In May 1944, the entire division crossed the Atlantic on the Queen Mary and was stationed at a golf course near Goldborne, England.

As a member of the Greatest Generation, he landed with his division at Omaha Beach on D-Day, July 25, 1944. Later the division joined General Patton's Third Army as it pushed across France reaching the Moselle River in Alsace Lorraine. On Sept. 3, 1944, Dempsey was seriously injured by machine gun fire in Pont-a-Mousson, France. He spent 231 days in hospitals in France, U.K. and the U.S. recuperating and was honorably discharged on May 1, 1945. In recognition of his service, he received a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star.

After World War II, he attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich., on the GI Bill receiving a bachelor's degree in political science in June 1948. Subsequently he attended the University of Michigan Law School in Ann Arbor and the University of Texas School of Law in Austin receiving his law degree in January 1953. As a law student, he passed the Texas Bar and was licensed in August 1952. He formed his own law firm in 1964 where he practiced for more than 30 years. In 1989, he joined Texas Petrochemicals Corporation as general counsel and continued in private practice in Houston through 2009. He also served as Of Counsel with Butler and Binion for many years. He was a member of the State Bar of Texas and the Houston Bar Association for over 50 years.

He loved entertaining and traveling with his wife, Mary, spending time in Galveston, playing backgammon, telling jokes and writing 38 Days of Combat recounting his World War II experience. He also enjoyed fishing with family and friends in Galveston, Texas, lakes and Brazil for peacock bass.

In addition to his family, Dempsey's passion was philately which he pursued as a child and again as an adult. In his free time, he attended stamp shows and entered competitions to share information and educate fellow enthusiasts. His renowned Falkland Islands stamp exhibit covering stamps from 1871 to 1933 received multiple awards including the Grand Award at the Omaha, Neb., National Stamp Show in 1992, which is the only Falkland Islands collection to have garnered a Grand Award in the U.S. In his displays, he shared the history of the small British colony through stamps. He participated in the 1993 World Series of Philately competition in Houston which exhibited collections from across the country. He also was a member of the Royal Philatelic Society.

He was a long-standing member of St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he and Mary were married in 1953 and Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Houston, Texas, serving on the parish council and as a member of the archdiocesan council. He also was a member of the American Hellenic and Professional Association.

After living in Houston for over 58 years, in 2012, Dempsey and Mary moved to Iowa where she grew up and attended college. They spent their time and resources actively supporting the University of Iowa College of Law and the Henry B. Tippie College of Business at the University of Iowa in Iowa City.

He is survived by his loving wife of 61 years, Mary; son, James and daughter-in-law, Kathryn; grandchildren, Dempsey James Michael and Kathryn Elizabeth; brother, George and sister-in-law Faye; cousins, including Katherine Sakaly Brown; nieces and nephews, including Anastasia Marie Chehak, Anne Clark, Elaine Prappas and Eva Prappas Kaiser and James A. Yiannias; and godchildren, Niko Lorentzatos and John N. Papas.

The Prappas family will receive family and friends from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 23, in the Jasek Chapel of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Dr., Houston, Texas, with Trisagion Prayers commencing at 6:30 p.m. The funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, April 24, at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 3511 Yoakum Blvd., Houston, with the cathedral clergy officiating. Interment will follow via an escorted cortege at Woodlawn Garden of Memories Cemetery, 1101 Antoine Dr., Houston.

Immediately following all are invited to greet the family during a Makaria luncheon to be held in the S.P. Martel Hall, adjacent to the church.

Honored to serve as active and honorary pallbearers, include Ted Dugey, Phil Dyer, Nicholas Jacomides, Jefferey Kaiser, Thomas J. Lykos Sr., George Milas, George Simos, Nick Stratigakis, John Springer, Pete Vossos and W.M. Woodie.

In lieu of customary remembrances, the family requests that memorial contributions in Dempsey's memory be made to Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 3511 Yoakum Blvd., Houston, TX 77006; St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church, 501 A Ave. NE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52401; or the charity of your choice.