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Cornelius Sullivan Obituary
Cornelius "Neil" F. Sullivan, Sr.
84, of Indianapolis, passed away Wednesday, December 4, 2013. Neil was a devoted husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. Neil is survived by his children, Judith Sullivan, Mary Helen Sullivan, Joanne (Paul) Fishburn, Beth (Chris) Sullivan-Summers, Neil Sullivan, Jr. and David (Mary Jo) Sullivan; son-in-law, Howie Weiss; 27 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren, as well as his brother, Jack Sullivan, and numerous nieces and nephews and their children and grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, Helen, his daughter, Kathy Sullivan-Weiss, and two grandchildren.
Neil served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and was a graduate of Boston College. Neil retired at age 55 from Berg Electronics, a division of DuPont. Following retirement, Neil returned to college to earn his teaching certificate, eventually joining the staff of Bishop Chatard High School as a Science teacher and guidance counselor.
Neil enjoyed nearly 40 years of sobriety as a member of Alcoholics Anonymous, and devoted himself to service of others through AA in various ways including sponsoring and supporting new members, contributing to the study and archiving of the history of AA, and leading AA meetings at the Pendleton Correctional Facility. Even in his death, Neil's generosity can be seen, as his final request was that his body be donated to Indiana University School of Medicine for research.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Louis de Montfort Catholic Church, Fishers, IN, on January 4, 2014, with visitation starting at 9:30 a.m. and Mass beginning at 10:30 a.m. An opportunity to celebrate Neil's life, and service in AA, will be held at Allisonville Christian Church, on Tuesday, January 7, 2014 starting with fellowship from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., and a memorial service from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Neil's memory to: Indianapolis Intergroup / Alcoholics Anonymous, 1915 W. 18th Street, Suite D, Indianapolis, IN 46202.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Cornelius Sullivan
December 25, 2013
To the Sullivan family,
It is with great sadness and joy, for the end of his suffering on earth, that I extend my heartfelt sympathy to you during this time. He was a great man. He set forth an awesome example of the capabilities of the human spirit. May he be restful in the arms of our Father.
Many blessings to you all.
Carrie Janet Korne
December 10, 2013
Neil's memory will live on in many of us. We will miss smile and his gentle love.
T. Lynn Phair
Cheryl Shipp
December 9, 2013
To The Sullivan family, I want to extend my deepest sympathy of the loss of a wonderful And Inspiring Man, to so many individuals. His memory will be ever lasting!
Robin Melrose Berman
December 9, 2013
Dear Sullivan Family,
May your hearts be filled with beautiful memories and may your father's memory be a blessing for all of you. (~your neighbor)
Dennis Anderson
December 9, 2013
Dennis & Shani Anderson
December 8, 2013
To all my cousins,
We have many wonderful memories of Uncle Neil and Aunt Helen coming to visit us in California in their camper. We also enjoyed Neil and Judith's visit for Greg's wedding. Many pleasant memories of a great man and his beautiful family.
Love, Joyce Wise
Colleen Lutkevich
December 8, 2013
Dear Family,
We all have such great memories of Uncle Neil, Aunt Helen, and the "Indiana Sullivans". Your Dad was a wonderful person in so many ways - to his family, and to so many others as well. We will all miss him so much.
With Love,
Colleen and Paul and kids.
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