James Sullivan

1921 - 2023

LIMA -- James R. Sullivan, age 101, passed away peacefully in his daughter Maureen's arms.

James was born on October 29, 1921, in Roslindale, Massachusetts to Patrick J. and Mary Mullin (Byrne) Sullivan. Both parents preceded him in death. On April 20, 1947, in Roslindale, Massachusetts, at Holy Name Catholic Church, he married Dorothy H. (Donovan) Sullivan. Dorothy, whom he lovingly referred to as "his bride" even after her death, preceded him in death on October 27, 1977.

James Sullivan grew up in Roslindale, MA, during the depression and his parents instilled great values, great faith and a superior work ethic. James started working when he was 12 years old as a newspaper delivery boy, a caddy on the Charles River Country Club and the George Wright Golf Course. He began working for his dad at the age of 14 in his father's construction business. James was lucky enough to grow up close to the Atlantic Ocean and spent time on Lake Pearl and Cape Cod with his family. He was a part of the Knot Hole Gang at Fenway Park for the Red Sox and the Braves Field, before the Braves moved to Atlanta, GA.

James graduated from St. Frances Xavier Grade School, Commerce High School and Bentley University, and attended the Sacred Heart Church. He later attended and graduated from Tufts University in Medford, MA, after the war.

James was attending Bentley University in Boston, MA when he enlisted in the Navy after Pearl Harbor was attacked. He was accepted to the Navy V5 Flight Cadet Program on December 9, 1942. During his Naval career he attended several colleges and was commissioned as a Naval Officer at the Pensacola, FL Naval Air Station. James flew many planes and loved flying jets. His first operational Navy plane he flew was the Douglass SBD. He flew the SBD2, Grumman Duck, P51 Mustang, Vought F4U Corsair and many more. His favorite during WWII was the Vought F4U Corsair. He was stationed on the USS Guadalcanal Jeep Carrier and the USS Midway as well as many Naval bases in Massachusetts, Florida, California, and Virginia. James made many great friends while in the U.S. Navy, during the time he was a cadet in the U.S. Navy, he played baseball with Ted Williams and Johnny Saine.

While James was busy flying jets, landing on carriers and defending our country, he married the love of his life and embarked on his next journey. He returned to Tufts University and graduated with an Electrical Engineering degree. James also continued to fly jets in the Naval Reserve and in 1954 James joined the Westinghouse Aerospace Electrical Division in Lima, OH and became the program manager for the Apollo Program, Space Shuttle Program, Av-8B program, Space Lab and worked on the Harrier Jet Program, just to name a few of the programs he was involved with, James got the opportunity to work with many astronauts and became friends with many astronauts and many engineers and leaders at NASA and North American Aviation and Martin, Marrietta in Houston, TX. James had passion to succeed in the space program and received many awards and accolades for the dedication and endless hours on the space program. He worked on components that were used on the Space Shuttle for over 20 years that were used until last space shuttle flight. James was part of the team that helped convert energy from AC to DC to help Apollo 13 return to earth after an in-space explosion. James worked until he was 76 years old.

James enjoyed ice hockey and ice skating with his children. He loved going to the beach, swimming and vacations with his family. James enjoyed traveling to Ireland to see his father's home and the country of Ireland. He was an avid fan of Notre Dame and Boston College football and enjoyed golfing at Hawthorne Hills in Lima.

I want to thank my daughter Maureen for giving up her career, travels and so much more to take care of me since 2006. She sacrificed everything to make sure she took great care of me. She did everything for me and for that I will be forever grateful. Maureen and I have a wonderful father/daughter relationship and friendship. Maureen always told me and showed me every day of my life how much she truly loved me and cared about me. She stayed right by my side, and it meant the world to me that she was not going to leave me to grow old by myself.

I had the opportunity to do a lot of things in life and none of them came easy. My faith in God is what got me through the hard times and made my blessings so much better.

One of James's favorite quotes, Keep the Faith!

James sacrificed so much for his children and grandchildren.

Many people respected and loved James. He was very intelligent, caring and courageous. He had a great sense of humor and was extremely proud of his Irish heritage.

James always threw a great St. Patrick's Day party.

He will be deeply missed by all who knew him.

If you enjoy your freedom today, thank a veteran for their sacrifice.

He is survived by a son, Paul J. (Cheryl) Sullivan; 4 daughters, Joan (Jim) Moss, Dorothy Sullivan, Kathleen Gast, and Maureen Sullivan; 7 grandchildren, Erin (Steve) Stolly, James (Utahna) Recob, Kevin (Kelli) Sullivan, Ashley (Carson) Barham, Brian (Anna) Sullivan, Meghan Casey, and Patricia Casey; 6 great grandchildren, Garrett Recob, Conor Stolly, Abby Stolly, Skylar Sullivan, Gracyn Sullivan, and Ryder Sullivan; nephews and nieces, Gerard (Elaine) Sullivan, Paul (Xiaobei) Sullivan, Ruth Schepis, Elaine Montgomery, Ken Hartin, Frank's kids, (Katrina, Kim, and Frank Jr.), John Donovan's kids (Amelia, John and Joseph), Kenneth Sullivan, Stephen Sullivan, Michael Sullivan, and Patricia C. Sullivan.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Patrick and Mary Mullin, Byrne Sullivan.

Siblings; Joe (Ruth) Sullivan, Frank (Cora) Sullivan, John (Stella) Sullivan, Kenneth Sullivan, Claire (Bud) Hartin, infant baby sister Mary.

Wife; Dorothy Sullivan, Father and Mother-in-Law; John and Katherine Donovan, Aunt and Uncle in law; Mary and Joseph Redigan, Byrne Aunt and Uncle in laws; Annie and Joe Pierce, Margaret and Harold Hooper.

Sullivan Aunt and Uncles; James Sullivan, Margaret Sullivan, Mary & Dennis Harrington, Catherine & Jeremiah O'Brien, John & Julie Sullivan, Nellie & Tim McCarthy, Johannah Sullivan, Nora and William Graham, Jane and Tim O'Dononvan, Julia & Daniel Sullivan, Infant boy Sullivan.

Brother-in-Law; John (Angelita) Donovan Nephews; Joseph Sullivan, Martin Sullivan, Vince Hartin, James Hartin, Robert Sullivan Son in law; Michael Gast

A devout Catholic, he attended St. Geerard Catholic Church, and in the 1960's went door to door in the north end of Lima to secure donations for the church to be built.

A Mass of Christian Burial will begin at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 8, 2023, at St. Gerard Catholic Church, 240 W. Robb Ave, Lima, OH 45801. Father Mike Sergi will officiate the service. Burial will follow in Gethsemani Cemetery. Military Honors will be provided by the VFW #1275 and the United States Navy.

The family will receive friends from 2:00 to 4:00 and 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Friday, July 7, at Chiles-Laman Funeral and Cremation Services, Shawnee Chapel with a Parish Wake service at 7:30 p.m.

Memorial contributions may be made to St. Gerard Catholic Church.

Condolences may be expressed to the family at www.chiles-lamanfh.com.