Ann ’60 and John ’60 Dempsay
Though they live near Los Angeles, Ann and John Dempsay remain in close contact with the Berkeley campus — quite literally, as they fly north for every Cal home football game. They’ve even gotten to know some of the team’s players and their families.
The couple’s love of Cal Athletics extends to the university as a whole. “We got so much out of our education and had such great encouragement,” Ann says, who studied political science as an undergrad. “Giving back as an alum is a natural thing. My family was always benevolent.”
Ann met her first husband, the late Richard Wonder LL.B. ’60, at UC Berkeley. Her second husband, John, went to high school with Ann in Bellevue, Washington, and earned a degree in criminology at Cal. Together, the Dempsays consistently support many areas of campus: the University Library, L&S, and several Cal Athletics programs such as tennis, football, and crew.
“Athletics bring out a different side of a person,” John says, a retired paper and packaging executive who rowed crew as a young man. “Competing in sports is an enriching experience and one that we want to continue to support for Cal’s talented student-athletes.”
Ann sums it up: “You gain so much more by giving than you ever do receiving.”
