Patricia Mae O'Sullivan

Patricia Mae (deGanahl) O'Sullivan

AGE: 71 • Woodstock, VT

Patricia Mae O'Sullivan, 71, passed away peacefully at her home on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2014, to her eternal home. She had a long and valiant struggle against cancer and did it with grace. Patricia grew up in Oakhurst, NJ on the Jersey shore. She attended Asbury Park High School and then went on to Boston University School of Nursing, graduating in the Class of 1964. She was a member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority. She returned to spend most of her years in Rumson, NJ.

She proudly practiced nursing in a variety of settings for 50 years. She worked in psychiatric care and Emergency Rooms and Pediatric care. She was an American Nurses Association (ANA) certified instructor of Critical Care Nursing and acting Director of Psychiatric Nursing Relations for two schools of nursing in Ohio. She developed an independent practice as Geriatric Care Manager and founded her own business, Senior Care Services, as well as SCS Products. She invented the Detour Doorkeeper which is used in nursing homes globally. She was interviewed about the "Detour" on the BBC. She was a member of the ANA Council of Nurses in Advanced Practice and the ANA Council of Gerontological Nurses.

Patricia was an active participant in her communities with special interests in golf, sailing and gardening. She was pleased with her hole in ones on both sides of the Atlantic at the Navesink Country Club (NCC) in New Jersey and the Kenmare Country Club, County Kerry, Ireland. She was chair of the Ladies 18 Hole Golf Group for NCC and was the first lady to serve on the NCC Golf Committee. She was the Ladies Club Champion in sailing turnabouts at the Shrewsbury Sailing and Yacht Club for 8 years and served on its Board of Governors. She was president for two years of the Rumson Community Appeal and on its board for eight years. She served in various capacities with the Children's Psychiatric Center and the Independent Residence Living for Learning Disabled Adults (STILE) in Redbank. She was a member of the American Cancer Society Cancer Ball Committee for numerous years.

She also lived in Kenmare, Ireland, for many years. In Kenmare she was a leader of the "Tidy Towns" competition, winning an All Ireland competition with her award winning gardens. She made many close friends and found great peace there with its beauty of nature.

She is survived by her 101 year old mother, Dorothy Sullivan of White River Junction, VT; her daughter, Catherine deGanahl Costello, with her husband, Kenneth Costello, and her two darling grandchildren, Finnbarr and Chloe Costello of Woodstock, VT; her cousins, Dorothy and Raymond Cosgrove of Rumson, NJ; cousins, Jacqueline and Arthur Dornbusch of Rumson, NJ; cousin, Peggy Ann Scott of Hobe Sound, FL; brother-in-law, Larry Walling of Leigh High Acres, FL; and daughter-in-law, Linda deGanahl of Sharpsburg, GA. She was predeceased by her sister, Deanna Sullivan Walling of Leigh High Acres, FL, and her father, George Sullivan of Oakhurst, NJ.

A memorial service in her honor will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, Aug. 11 at Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Church in Woodstock, VT, with a reception to follow. A memorial gathering will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14 at the Thompson Memorial Home, 310 Broad St., Red Bank, NJ, with a funeral mass to be held at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Aug. 15 at St. Michaels Catholic Church in West Long Branch, with burial at the Mount Carmel Cemetery followed by a reception at Bahr's Landing Restaurant, Highlands.

In lieu of flowers, please make a contribution to the Hand to Heart Project, a non-profit program providing free massage and compassionate touch to cancer patients in Vermont and New Hampshire. Contributions may be sent to The Hand to Heart Project, PO Box 248, Cornish Flats, NH 03746, or made online at www.HandToHeartProject.org.