Patrick Dempsey spoke fondly of his late parents.
The Ferrari the actor was born to Amanda and William Dempsey on January 13, 1966 in Lewiston, Maine.
Although he eventually left Maine at a young age to pursue his acting career, he still has close ties to the area where he grew up.
In 2008, he founded the Dempsey Center in honor of his mother, Amanda, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1997 and died in 2014.
Over the years, the actor has spoken about his parents and the influence they had on his life. Namely, Dempsey told PEOPLE in April 2023 that the process of grieving the loss of his mother made him a better husband to Jillian Dempsey and the father of their three children.
“You really prioritize your family and your kids,” he said. “The family unit I think is very important and makes me appreciate it more.”
Read ahead for everything Dempsey had to say about his parents.
He grew up with his parents in Maine
Dempsey was born in Lewiston, Maine, but grew up in nearby Buckfield and Turner, which he described as a “mill town” during the podcast. Ten percent happier with Dan Harris. He added that his father was an insurance salesman and his mother was a secretary.
His parents had two more children
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Dempsey is the youngest of the three; his older sisters are Mary Dempsey (pictured above) and Alicia Hatten. His sisters also co-founded the Dempsey Center with him, which provides personalized and comprehensive cancer care at no cost.
His father died when he was 17 years old
During his podcast appearance Ten percent happier with Dan HarrisDempsey said his father, who was much older than his mother, died when he was 17, around the same time he moved to NYC to pursue acting.
“I had just left Maine,” he said of his father’s death. “He passed that first year I was here in New York, ’83. That was the hardest.”
“Just at that time as a man, you look at your father differently. I was out alone. There were a lot of things I wanted to ask him that I didn’t get a chance to do,” he continued. “I’m sorry I don’t have more time with him now as an adult.”
His mother remarried after his father’s death
After the death of Dempsey’s father, his mother eventually married a man named Howard Lowell. They were together at the time of her death in 2014, according to her obituary published in the Portland Press Herald.
His mother died of ovarian cancer in 2014
Dempsey’s mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1997 and died in 2014. “She lived much longer than expected,” he said on the podcast Ten percent happier with Dan Harris. “She had a slow-growing cancer that came back almost every two years and she fought it for a very long time.”
Speaking to PEOPLE in April 2023, Dempsey said he felt the end when his mother died.
“There were several surgeries, we weren’t sure it would work,” he said. “And we had some of our best conversations where everything was on the table. She was very open and very clear and honest with what she felt. And for me, yes, but not for all my siblings. My brothers and the sisters didn’t have that closure and they’re still paying the price for it.”
He founded the Dempsey Center in honor of his mother
In 2008, he founded the Dempsey Center in honor of his mother, Amanda. During his podcast appearance Ten percent happier with Dan Harrishe pointed out that he got the idea for the center during his work grey’s anatomy, when people asked him what charities he was involved in.
“Then it is [idea] wellness center or free therapy,” he said. Fortunately, his mother was able to see the Dempsey Center to fruition before she died in 2014 and even worked as a volunteer.
Talking to TodayDempsey said the experience “meant more to her than she could verbalize.”
“She wanted to give it back,” he added. “She was incredibly vulnerable, but she always had a strong facade. And I think it meant a lot to her that she came back as a volunteer, and it meant a lot to the people in the community that she was here too.”
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