DEMPSEY - Jack "Bear" Of Grand Island, a long time teacher and coach in the Niagara Falls School System and a member of the University of Buffalo's celebrated 1958 Lambert Cup football team, passed away Saturday, Oct. 8, 2011. Bear was born Dec. 5, 1937 in Buffalo, the son of Donald and Helen Dempsey. He grew up in Eden and graduated in 1955 from Eden High School, where he was an outstanding athlete. He continued on to UB, where he was a member of the Bulls football teams from 1957 through 1959. Bear also served his country as a member of the Army Reserves for five and a half years, including six months of active duty at Fort Dix. Bear graduated from UB in 1960 and began teaching in Niagara Falls schools shortly afterward, eventually spending many years teaching biology at LaSalle Senior High School. He was an assistant football and basketball coach at the former Bishop Duffy High School in Niagara Falls for several years, then an assistant football coach at LaSalle before becoming head coach for several seasons. A rangy tackle, Bear was a standout player on the Bulls' 1958 team, blocking for, among others, halfback Willie Evans, who still holds UB's all-time yards-per-carry record. UB finished with an 8-1 record in 1958, winning the Lambert Cup as the top small college team in the East, but turned down an offer to play Florida State in the Tangerine Bowl because the Orlando High School Athletic Association refused to allow blacks and whites to play football together. The Bulls declined to make the trip without Evans and defensive end Mike Wilson, the other African-American member of the team; the 1958 team gained national attention in 2008, when the Bulls were invited to play in the International Bowl in Toronto, for its refusal a half-century before to play in the Tangerine Bowl. "We weren't heroes," Bear told ESPN.com. "It was just something you did. It was just the right thing." Bear was survived by a multitude of friends, too numerous to mention individually. A loyal and active alumnus of UB, he was a long-time football season ticket holder and philanthropic supporter of Bulls athletics. He was instrumental in keeping the 1958 team together, the "social director" for the close-knit group of players that frequently met at Brunner's, not far from the campus. He and former teammates Joe Oliverio, Charlie Tirone and Evans established the 1958 Lambert Cup Team Football Legacy Scholarship given each year to a football student-athlete who exemplifies the ideals of the 1958 team; as a teacher and coach, Bear was a stern taskmaster, but was a caring mentor and genuine inspiration to scores and scores of his students and players, many of whom went on to success in intercollegiate athletics and professionally. A tough and demanding man with a heart of gold, a dedicated teacher and coach, a loyal alumnus, a giving friend. Bear will be remembered for all those qualities and for "Keeping Court" for many years at his dock at his home on the Niagara River. Friends and former players, teammates, and students are invited to a Memorial Service 7 PM Wednesday, October 19 at KAISER FUNERAL HOME, 1950 Whitehaven Road, Grand Island. There also will be a Celebration of Bear's Life at 11 AM Friday, October 21 at the team meeting room at UB Stadium. Parking will be available at the stadium lot adjacent to Millersport Highway. Information is available from the UB Office of Athletic Development at 645-6867. Donations in memory of Jack "Bear" Dempsey be can made to The University of Buffalo 1958 Lambert Cup Team Football Legacy Scholarship Endowment, Office of Athletics Development, University at Buffalo, Division of Athletics, 202 Alumni Arena, Buffalo, NY 14260.