CAPT Marie E. Dempsey, USNR, 80, of Franklinville, NJ. A loving sister, mother and grandmother, career nurse and honored veteran of the Navy Reserves, Marie went home to the Lord on August 30, 2022. There, she joins her parents, Louis A. Berret and Gertrude Berret (nee Macfarlane), her devoted husband, Joseph W. Dempsey, and her beloved sister Gertrude (Trudy) Randazzo.

Born on September 11th, 1941, Marie grew up in Pennsauken, NJ, and attended Saint Peter Catholic Elementary School in Merchantville. She then went on to Camden Catholic High School, where she proudly played the flute and piccolo in the concert and marching bands, as well as sang in the Sicilian choir before graduating in 1959. She then attended St. Francis Nursing School in Trenton, NJ. Upon graduation, she began her long career as a Registered Nurse, also attending the University of Pennsylvania, where she earned her B.S. in Nursing, and later her Masters degree in 1988.

In 1966, Marie brought her nursing skills to the US Navy Reserves, joining as Lieutenant and ultimately earning the rank of Captain. As part of this service, she served active duty as a Charge Nurse during the Vietnam conflict from May 1966 through March 1969. She was called again during the Gulf War, where she served as Head Nurse for the base hospital in Norfolk, VA from August 1990 through April 1991.

Marie loved being a nurse, and worked many years in the emergency department at Cooper Hospital in Camden. She also taught nursing at Pennsylvania Hospital, as well as Helene Fuld School of Nursing in Blackwood before retiring in 2008.

In 2001, Marie founded her animal rescue organization, Saint Francis Peaceful Pause, where she poured herself into helping homeless dogs and cats find loving homes. Marie's efforts over her lifetime, and especially the last 25 years, have saved countless animals from death and helped them to live out their lives in the care of loving adopters and foster parents.

Marie is survived by her brother, Rev. Anthony Berret, S.J. of Saint Joseph's University, her sister, Sr. Eleanor Berret, O.S.F. of the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany, her daughter, Elizabeth Kapelus, and her three grandchildren, Christian, Gabriel, and Ava.

Her loved ones remember her for her brilliance, generosity, her sense of humor, and her courageous ability to fight for those who could not fight for themselves, especially animals. A devoted Catholic and lifelong caregiver, she had an enormous and lasting impact on all those who knew her.

Family and friends are invited to  honor the life of Captain Marie E. Dempsey, Wednesday September 7,2022 at Alloway Funeral Home 315 E. Maple Ave., Merchantville NJ, 08109 with a viewing from 9:30 - 11:00, followed by a funeral service at 11:00 A.M.  Interment to follow at Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery 350 Province Line Road, Wrightstown, NJ 08562 - interment ceremony at 1:00 pm.