John W. Sullivan

1954 - 2020

John W. Sullivan, family man and devoted friend

John W. Sullivan 65, passed away suddenly at his home in Delaware May 19, 2020, to go to be in heaven with his mother, father and brother, whom he loved and missed dearly. John was the eldest of three siblings, born November 22, 1954, son of the late Albert (Slim) Sullivan and Dorothy (Grace) Sullivan and brother of the late Gary Sullivan. He graduated from Aberdeen High School in 1973. In 1983 he married Linda Sullivan (Gearin). He worked for Cytec Engineering in Havre de Grace, Maryland. In 2016 he retired after 46 dedicated years. He made many lifelong friends at Cytec, he worked numerous hours of overtime and his coworkers became his second family. They blessed him with many nicknames, Boom and Sully to mention a few. He was loved and respected by all of them.

John had many and varied hobbies. After work 3 times a week he faithfully joined his buddies, lifting weights in The Hole in Aberdeen. He was in many Powerlifting contests and always went home with a trophy and many great memories. He competed in the World Natural Powerlifting Federation; his best competition bench press was 424 pounds. John was huge NASCAR fan; his favorite drivers were the Earnhardt's and Kyle Larson. He was a steadfast Miami Dolphins fan, losing bets every year to his two best friends. He loved Johnny Cash, Hank Sr., the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin. John loved going on long trips on his Harley. He enjoyed woodworking and learned to make dovetail boxes. He showed his love by gifting them to his friends and family and donated one every year to the SCV. John was a Lieutenant Commander in the Delaware Grays Camp, Sons of Confederate Veterans. He was honored to march in the Gettysburg Remembrance Day parade every year, he went on reenactment's, visited many Civil War battlegrounds and monuments. John was a Trump supporter through and through. He loved to: travel, have parties, hang out in his Pole Barn (mancave) with many of his cherished friends and wife. He was very proud of his retirement home and loved living in the country. He enjoyed cooking and loved to eat.

But John's main passion was hanging out with his family. He had a family tradition of getting together at his mom's every holiday, birthdays' and cookouts or just for the heck of it. He enjoyed catching up with his sisters Brenda and Terry. He called his mom every day until her passing. He was a loving and devoted husband, father, grandfather, son, brother, uncle, friend and neighbor. He loved telling stories of his past to his grandson Eros and preached to him lifelong lessons. They enjoyed spending time together.

He was a loyal and trustworthy man. Always willing and eager to help anyone he could. He was loved by many and will be genuinely missed by all who knew him.

He is survived by his beloved wife of 37 years Linda Sullivan, his son Eric Bittick, daughter- in- law Amy Poole, grandsons Eros and Gearin "Tinky", his sisters Terry Sullivan and Brenda Burkentine-Sullivan, his sister-in-law Debbie (Sullivan) Robinette, his nephews Tommy Smith, David Burkentine, Josh and Brandon Sullivan, niece Heather Rolek and an extended family of many best friends.

A memorial service will be scheduled at Tarring's Funeral Home in Aberdeen, Maryland at a later date.