However for many people in the London Borough of Barnet with friends and relatives who lived with disabilities, John was known for a different reason. John worked with people with autism, downs syndrome and other such conditions. Unlike many footballers and ex footballers, John was a man who made a massive difference to many people's lives when his professional career ended. John worked at a centre that my cousin, Tessie Fanning, attended and she loved him. I met John a couple of times at parties arranged by disabled campaigner John Sullivan. John's daughter Susan, another of Barnet's Downs community was another big fan of John, changing her allegiance from Arsenal to Chelsea as part of her admiration for John. Most of the obituaries you will read will focus on his football career, but John spent a far longer part of his life working with people with disabilities than he did playing football. He was a lovely bloke. At Susan's party, he made it clear that she was the star, despite being a football legend. I doubt there are any other footballers who scored in a European cup final who had such a second career.
Thank you John for all you work for people we loved, such as Tessie and Susan.
I'll leave it with this tweet.
Sad news today about John Dempsey. Met him 30 years ago at centre in Mill Hill where he worked with kids with autism/learning disabilities. Kept in touch over the years & went to his house to interview him for Eddie Mac book and saw his 1970 cup final shirt and medals. RIP John. pic.twitter.com/jiDHCqRYQG
— Eddie McCreadie 1977 ⭐⭐ (@eddiemacbawa) November 6, 2024
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