Proud to be an American
Warwick. Longtime UPS driver Tom Dempsey retires after 34 years.
| 31 Jul 2020 | 02:14
Business owner Craig Wadeson poses with now retired UPS driver Tom Dempsey. Provided photo.
Tom Dempsey may not be as well-known as his brother General Martin Dempsey, who served as chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2011 to 2015.
But in the Village of Warwick, especially in the business community, he is famous and beloved.
On Thursday, July 30, Dempsey retired from the United Parcel Service (UPS) after 34 years of serving his clients, often above and beyond the call of duty.
Dempsey and his wife, Darlene, live in Greenwood Lake where they raised their two daughters.
He and his parents and siblings moved there from Bayonne, New Jersey, when he was five. Dempsey is also a graduate of John S. Burke Catholic High School in Goshen.
“As I retire,” he said, “I would like to say that I’m proud to be an American, a member of the Teamsters Union and to have worked for UPS. And it has been my pleasure to serve the people of Warwick. They are like family.”
Dempsey mentioned a long list of business owners and professionals in that family along with a few interesting memories like chasing down someone who had just robbed the Inkwell Office Supply and turning him over to the police.
And, thanks to his brother’s high position in the military, he had an opportunity to meet three presidents and also many of the Major League Baseball players whenever the general was invited to throw out the first ball.
Dempsey plans to continue making deliveries in Warwick. But this time it will be food orders for Fratello’s and Fetch restaurants.
- Roger Gavan
‘An icon in our Town’
In his weekly column, Warwick Town Supervisor Michael P. Sweeton took note of Tom Dempsey’s retirement. He wrote:
This past week we said farewell to a fixture, an icon in our Town, Tom Dempsey. Tom was that guy in the brown UPS uniform who you saw day in, day out, delivering packages throughout the Village of Warwick. Always with a smile, often a friendly hello, no matter how busy or what the weather you could always count on Tommy. As happens to many of us, Tom had a few more aches and pains as the years went on, but it never slowed him up or kept him from making his deliveries. That’s because Tom wasn’t afraid of hard work and was committed to doing the best job he could. Tom was and is an inspiration to all of us and he will be missed, but he has earned his retirement and time to enjoy the things he hasn’t had time to do. Tom, thank you for your service these many years and for the many lives you touched.