Venita Ruth Childs Dempsey, a long time Marfa resident, was born on Dec. 22, 1930, in Limestone County, Texas, not far from Waco, Texas.

The second of six children born to her parents, she was the daughter of Cecil C. Childs and Grace Elizabeth McCutchen Childs. Her siblings, all of Texas, were Dorothy Elizabeth, Benny Eugene, Goldie Olene, Aubrey Glen, and Carlos Erwin, and a halfsister, Charlene.

Venita passed from this life into her eternal home in Heaven on June 21, 2021, at the age of 90 in Covington, Wash., near Seattle.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her sister Dorothy, and her brother Aubrey, as well as her husband Stanley J. Dempsey, her son Stanley James Dempsey, Jr., and her grandson Robert James Tipton.

She is survived by her children Gene Dempsey of Maple Valley, Wash., Martha Tipton, of El Paso, Texas, Mary Dempsey, of Covington, Ginger Rodriquez of San Diego, Calif., and Bob Dempsey of Pleasant View, Utah. She is also survived by 13 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren.