Matt Sullivan

1973 - 2022

Matt Sullivan
October 13, 1973 - August 12, 2022
Charlotte, North Carolina - Matt Sullivan, age 48, died unexpectedly on Friday, August 12, 2022, leaving behind several novelty suits, 25 bins of Halloween decorations, plenty of sporting goods, his beloved 1951 Lincoln Lido, and a loyal family and community.
Matt is survived by his loving wife, Lecil Shamel Sullivan, and their two wonderful sons, Matthew William "Will" Sullivan and Jacob Todd "Jake" Sullivan. He is also survived by his mother, Karyl Lee Sullivan of Concord, NC; father and mother in law, Travis and Elaine Shamel of Raleigh NC; sister, Tenley Harkey and her husband, Jim of Monroe, NC; sister, Trena Sullivan and her husband Flann of Enterprise, FL; sister, Karen Melatti and her husband, Lee of Tampa, FL; brother, Brooks Sullivan and his wife Janet of Richmond, VA; Brother in law, Travis Shamel Jr. and his wife Tina of Highland, IN; Brother in law Todd Shamel and his wife Sheila of Raleigh, NC; Nieces Arielle Hendrick, Morgan Bianchett, Julianna Shamel, Victoria Shamel, and Catherine Shamel, and nephews Brent Keeter, Andrew Sullivan, Anthony Melatti, Travis Shamel III, Nathan Shamel, and Nicholas Shamel.
Matt is also survived by countless surrogate brothers and sisters who became family through the years. It was not hard to become part of Matt's circle, he was quick to turn a stranger into a friend, and friends into family, often before those strangers knew what luck had just befallen them. He made each person he interacted with feel seen and loved.
He was preceded in death by his father, Joseph Luther Sullivan, and his brother, Marc Sullivan.
Matt was born in Binghamton, New York on October 13, 1973 and is the youngest of six siblings. His family moved to Concord, NC when Matt was five years old, but he maintained his love of Spiedies, cold weather, and the mountains. Matt was a Concord High School Spider and played saxophone in marching band and concert orchestra. He graduated from Appalachian State University (go Mountaineers!) with a BA in Communications and Marketing.
Matt and Lecil met when a close friend tried to set Lecil up with a great guy who brought along a wingman. Matt was the wingman, and he and Lecil had an instant connection. For 22 wonderful years, Matt and Lecil brought out the best in one another. They were an exquisitely seasoned order of fries or a perfectly balanced IPA, one of Matt's favorites. They enjoyed thousands of simple things and quite a few big things, taking every opportunity to strike a prom pose and go all out for special events.
Matt's greatest joy was being a father to Will and Jake. He could often be found teaching them how to throw lacrosse, racing RC cars, coaching sports teams, playing Xbox, fishing, making them pose for pictures next to fancy cars in parking lots, mountain biking, and even playing Pokemon Go (what adult has a level 45 account?). He fostered in them a love of hot wings, a good campfire, scented candles, and Calvin and Hobbes. He was always willing to jump in on any activity with Lecil and his boys, even riding roller coasters despite his debilitating motion sickness. Matt prioritized quality time with his family and loved them fiercely.
He began his career at First Union Bank and most recently worked for Principal Financial Group, where he continued his role from Wells Fargo as a Relationship Manager for Institutional Retirement Accounts.
Matt was a connoisseur of experiences and looked for opportunities to have (and inject) fun into every day. You might see Matt around Uptown wearing a Christmas-themed suit or anchoring a trivia team, most recently on Wednesday nights at Devil's Logic where he, unsurprisingly, befriended the host and several opposing teams.
He loved cars, especially classic cars, including his 1951 Lincoln Lido (when it ran). He took home 2nd place for Survivor Class vehicles in the Lowe's Auto Fair. He loved talking about everything automotive at his many car group meetups.
Matt was an enthusiastic sports fan who loved the NY Giants, NY Rangers, Carolina Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, and most recently found so much joy in following the Charlotte FC and attending their games with friends. He also wanted to hear about your team and somehow knew enough about them to both respect you and give you a slight ribbing about it.
Matt loved music and had a diverse soundtrack from hip-hop to folk, for every season and mood. He especially loved enjoying live music or listening to a great playlist on the back porch with good friends. He knew the perfect song for every one of life's moments and would have been great at scoring movies or TV shows.
Name an outdoor activity and Matt was likely to already love it or be interested in trying it out. From cornhole to skiing to throwing lacrosse, he was up for it.
Matt loved to know people everywhere. He had friends across Charlotte who gave a warm "Sully!" greeting when he walked through the door. He was everyone's brother and will be sorely missed.
There will be a celebration of Matt's life and how he lived on Friday. We welcome all who want to join us in remembering the joy and enthusiasm he brought to every occasion. A reception will follow with some of Matt's favorite music and photos. Please share pictures and memories with the family at msully.family@gmail.com.
In memory and in lieu of flowers: Please consider supporting the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department, the Charlotte Fire Department, and the Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation Department, who worked tirelessly and with great urgency to support the Sullivan family. In addition, a memorial has been established at Myers Park Presbyterian Church.
Celebration of Life
Friday, August 19, 2022
3 p.m.
Myers Park Presbyterian
2501 Oxford Place
Charlotte NC
Livestream available at myersparkpres.org/funerals