Hope Dempster

Hope Dempster was born December 10, 1932 to parents Sarah & Charles Bodden who were first generation Jamaican immigrants. She passed July 11, 2017 leaving behind her only child Sharon, 3 grandchildren & their spouses (Trevor, Patty, Marcus, Kescha, Lester & Ruth) & 6 great grandchildren (Lily, Zoe, Miles, Tasha, Leah & Lester). In addition to her strong parents, Hope had loving sisters (Emelyn “Emmy” Stoney & Edna Carter), brother (Wendell Bodden) along with their extended families& her numerous friends & colleagues from throughout the years.

MomHope as she was known by most was such a strong & determined woman shaped by countless life experiences. She was a trailblazer & during a time when there were minimal voices for African American women, she stood tall & strong above everyone in her field shaking down the wall street elites.Hope is agraduate ofLong Island University.Hope had many exciting jobs. She worked as an accountant forHarry Belefonte as well asworking as anaccountant on Wall Street eventually taking on big firms & had CEO’s running the other way when she came to look at their books.Had she still been there, I don’t think we would’ve had nearly as many of the financial problems in recent memory from the bailouts to other banking issues which have challenged our economy.

We were blessed to learn many valuable lessons from Hope during her 84 years, among them: Don’t rely on computers, be your own person (Monkey see Monkey do), annunciate, speak clearly & think about what you say before speaking. Throughout life, these lessons sometimes seemed stern but as life has progressed, you begin to appreciate someone who cared enough to give you the tools necessary to succeed in life and to think & challenge yourself. Especially given the challenges of what we face today, it’s needed now more than ever & we are all blessed to have had her impart wisdom on us throughout our lives.

There are so many stories of Hope that would make you laugh as she was one tough cookie but what some may not have known is that she always gave back without glorifying. Most notably when living in Florida, she volunteered driving seniors who were unable to drive to church. Just one of the many things she did that you would never hear her boast about. She was caring, honest & we love her for all that she brought to us.

MomHope is reunited with her brother and sister & will be missed by us all.