Martha Ann Sullivan

Martha Ann Sullivan, 83, transitioned on August 24, 2025, at the home house under hospice care.

Martha was born on October 21, 1941, in Laurens County, South Carolina to Ethel Sullivan Thornton and Charles Oliver. At an early age, the family moved to Charlotte, NC until she graduated from Second Ward High School. Like many people from the south, Martha migrated to the north for better opportunities with other relatives by making New York/New Jersey home.

Martha was employed at Newark School as the Senior Supervisor for security and safety (resource officer); a position that she loved and treasured. She graduated from Essex County College in Newark, NJ with an associate degree in Public Safety. She was a member of First Baptist Church of Burlington, North Carolina and would frequent Elon First Baptist Church of Burlington, NC with her daughter. When relocating to North Carolina with her daughter, Martha joined Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Bessemer City, NC under the leadership of Rev. Thurman Clark. Any church she had affiliation with; you could find her serving the Lord and on a kitchen committee. Our mother was a true servant for the Lord. As her health started to decline, Martha enjoyed watching church on Facebook and YouTube.

Martha's greatest joy was her family. She loved spending time with her grandchildren and great-granddaughter and would often sacrifice for their wants and needs. Her husband Cleo was her world. After they retired, they made Biloxi, MS, their home in 2005. In 2011, Martha lost the love of her life and transitioned to North Carolina to live with her daughter and grandchildren. Her children gave her the option to move to Maryland or North Carolina. She enjoyed traveling between North Carolina and Maryland to visit her son.

She leaves to cherish her memory, her daughter Chandra Rogers of the home, one son, Cleophus Thomas (Qadriyyah)of Upper Marlboro, MD; 1 sister, June Bennett, Fredericksburg, VA; 2 brothers, Bernard Thornton (Beverly),Waxhaw, NC, John Sullivan (Zelma), Charlotte, NC; a very special cousin/aunt, Dora Lee Parks, 104 years old, Charlotte, NC; 3 grandsons, Naijii Boyd, of the home house, Nigel Boyd, Burlington, NC, Ahday Griffin, Los Angeles, CA; 1 great-granddaughter, Mayriah Boyd, Elgin, SC and a host of nieces, nephews and cousins she dearly loved.

Martha was preceded in death by her husband, Cleophus; her mother, Ethel Thornton; her father, Charles Oliver; her brother, Ricky Thornton; her aunts, Francis Sullivan Sims, Viola Sullivan Jones, and Mattie Lee Sullivan Rivers; her uncles, Cordell Sullivan and Odell Sullivan; and her grandfather who raised her, James Cordell Sullivan.