By By JAN GRIFFEY / Niles Daily Star
NILES – Paul Rifenberg recently shared his concern that fellow insurance salesman and friend, John Dampeer, isn't using all of his assets to his best advantage.
"As an insurance salesman, if I was a Notre Dame All-American, I'd be wearing my helmet to all of my appointments," Rifenberg said, only half joking.
That's just not Dampeer's style.
About a year ago, Dampeer took over the State Farm insurance agency in Niles that was once operated by the late Chuck Trubac. Since that time, he has quietly but surely worked to introduce himself to the Niles community.
However, unlike Rifenberg, who would shout such an accomplishment from the rooftops, Dampeer's approach is more understated.
"Choosing to play football at Notre Dame has meant absolutely everything to me," he said while seated at a conference table at his office on South 11th Street in Niles on a recent warm and sunny March afternoon.
"It was just luck. Turns out, it was a wonderful decision."
He said choosing to operate a State Farm insurance office in Niles has turned out to be a good decision, too.
"I have enjoyed Niles immensely," Dampeer said. Before coming here, Dampeer worked for five years for State Farm, based out of South Bend, Ind., traveling to more than 200 State Farm offices, assisting with the sales of financial services.
"I specifically chose Niles, maybe because of the fond feeling I have for small towns. It's been wonderful," he said. So far, he has become involved in the Four Flags Chamber and in the Niles-Buchanan Rotary Club.
Even though Dampeer doesn't overwhelm his friends and customers with stories of his Notre Dame past, he is very proud of his accomplishments there – on the field and off. Mostly he's proud he met and married his wife, Susan, who attended Saint Mary's College while Dampeer was at Notre Dame.
"I tell people I came to Notre Dame to play football but I fell in love with a girl from Michigan and here I am."
Dampeer graduated high school in 1968 in Kermit, Texas, a West Texas town just a short distance from Odessa – the part of Texas whose attitude toward football led to the movie "Friday Night Lights."
"They take football way too seriously down there," he said. However, it wasn't unusual for Dampeer's high school football games to draw crowds of 16,000 fans.
That's how Dampeer came to the attention of Notre Dame and Ara Parseghian.
While recruited by a number of major universities, including the University of Oklahoma, Dampeer's real decision was between the University of Texas and the University of Notre Dame.
His father, also named John Dampeer and a Harvard-educated surgeon, motivated his son to attend Notre Dame, not because of football, but because of the educational opportunities. However, it was something Parseghian said to him that closed the deal for Dampeer.
"Coach said, 'Son, you can go to school at Texas and you can play ball there. But the real question is this: Will you always wonder in the back of your mind whether you would have been able to play at Notre Dame?' "
Not only did Dampeer play football at Notre Dame, he was an All-American and team captain his senior year, 1972. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals and signed a three-year contract, but never played.
"My claim to fame is having been in a huddle with Bill Walsh, who at the time was quarterback coach for the Bengals," Dampeer said.
As an offensive tackle, Dampeer was smaller but faster than most.
However, at the pro level, those defensive linemen with 25 or so pounds on him, turned out to be pretty quick, too.
"That's when I decided to go into sales," he laughed.
Dampeer's Notre Dame teams did pretty well for Parseghian. Joe Theismann was quarterback during Dampeer's first two seasons.
"My first year at Notre Dame, Texas beat us and went on to with the national championship," Dampeer said. "But we beat them in 1970."
Dampeer's experience playing under Parseghian didn't disappoint, he said.
"Coach is an exceptional person. He knew more about every position than did any of the position coaches," Dampeer said. "He is brilliant, intense and passionate."
Dampeer said his relationship with Parseghian has continued and he sees him occasionally. He has also kept in touch with a number of his Notre Dame teammates, but he keeps up with former teammate Dave Casper the most.
"Dave had a wonderful career at Notre Dame and went on to have a fabulous pro career," he said. "Turns out, he is in the insurance business, too."
Casper, nicknamed The Ghost because of his many clutch performances, entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002. He played pro football from 1974 through 1984. Today, he is a Northwestern Mutual insurance salesman in California.
Dampeer and his wife are the parents of two grown children: Andy, who works for a State Farm agent in Marshall, and Claire, a Notre Dame graduate, who lives in Boston with her husband, who is a physician in training.
Susan Dampeer works at her alma mater of Saint Mary's as assistant to the president.
"When I made the decision to go to Notre Dame, it was luck, yes. But I also knew it was going to be a good experience," Dampeer said. "I didn't know how wonderful an experience working with State Farm was going to be until I was already working for the company.
"Much of the reason I love Notre Dame and I love small towns is what makes working for State Farm so great," he said. "I know it may sound cheesy, but our mission is to help people manage the risk of everyday life, recover from the unexpected and realize their dreams. State Farm is a company that cherishes the family and cherishes the community. Our motto is, 'Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there,' and that really is the truth."