Russell L. Dempsey founded Dempsey’s Bookkeeping and Tax Service on September 23, 1946, where he ran it out of the back of his house on Elm Street.

Upon Russell’s passing on November 7, 1964, his son Patrick and wife Jane moved back from Las Vegas with their three children, along with one on the way (eventually growing to five), and took over the business. They moved the operation to the corner of Maumee and McKenzie in 1971, before relocating to the current location in 1982. They renamed the firm Dempsey Accounting Services.

In 1987, their oldest son, Russell, joined the firm, and in 1994, their youngest son, Michael, joined as well. On October 1, 1994, Russ and Mike purchased the firm and renamed it Dempsey & Dempsey, P.C., Certified Public Accountants.

In January 1999, both Mike and Russ received the CFP® designation and later founded Dempsey & Dempsey Financial Services, LLC.

From 2002 through 2005, they joined Jefferson Pilot Securities Corporation and added investment advisory services. In January 2006, they changed their broker-dealer to 1st Global. Blucora acquired 1st Global and merged it with HD Vest, renaming it Avantax Wealth Management in 2019. Cetera  purchased Avantax in November 2023.Avantax is now a unique community within the Cetera family and Cetera Wealth Services, LLC is our broker-dealer.

In February 2024, Dempsey & Dempsey Financial Services entered into an association with Willis & Machnik Financial Services out of Jackson, Michigan, to expand their investment offerings and add additional support staff. Like Dempsey & Dempsey, Willis & Machnik is family-owned and operated, with Dan Machnik, CFP®, as the primary owner.

Mitchell Dempsey, Russ’s son, joined the firm in November 2024, beginning the fourth generation.