Vera "Penny" Lee Wingeier Sullivan

Vera Lee ("Penny") Sullivan, 76, formerly of Westwood, Massachusetts, passed away peacefully at home with family in Cotuit, Massachusetts, on December 31, 2022, after a courageous, but brief, battle with cancer. Penny inspired and empowered all who met her with her love and authenticity, and she will be forever missed by friends and family.
Penny was born on August 21, 1946 and grew up in Alto, Michigan, a farming community outside of Grand Rapids. She was the only child and devoted daughter of Vera and Fred Wingeier. Penny attended and graduated from Saint Mary's College in South Bend, Indiana with a B.A. in Fine Arts Library in 1968, before earning her master's degree in English Language and Literature in 1969 from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Penny always managed to balance her competing allegiances to both the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Michigan Wolverines.
She began her career in Boston as a research librarian at the Gillette Company, took a prolonged hiatus from her profession to be at home and raise her children, and returned to work as an educator, media and library specialist and college counselor at the Renaissance Charter School, Boston, and later at the Woodward School, Quincy. Penny was full of knowledge and loved to escape into a good book, and she passed her love of learning and literature to her children, students and grandchildren.
Despite her educational and professional accomplishments, she was most proud of her role as a mother and grandmother to her four children and nine grandchildren. While living in Boston, she met her husband, Maurice H. Sullivan, Jr., whom she married in September 1970, and remained a devoted wife for over 52 years. Following time in Brighton and West Roxbury, Penny and Maurice settled in Westwood, Massachusetts, where they lived for more than thirty years and raised their four children, Maurice, III ("Skip"), Cara, Elizabeth and Maureen. She was actively involved in her childrens' lives and with the Catholic church, schools and civic and social organizations in Westwood and surrounding communities - teaching religious education in her home, volunteering at the public schools and St. Denis parish in Westwood and seeking out and supporting the educational and athletic activities of her children.
Penny and Maurice permanently relocated to Cotuit in 2014 after initially spending summers, weekends, and holidays in the Cape Cod home they purchased in 2002. She took tremendous joy in family visits, vacations and celebrations and just adored watching her cherished grandchildren grow. In particular, she loved hosting and celebrating the Fourth of July each year, when she packed the schedule with the Cotuit Firecracker 5k race, the village parade, Sampson's Island boat trips, a family photography session, BBQ, clam bake and the annual Sullivan tennis tournament. No distance was too far for her family, and she frequently traveled to Washington, D.C. and Chicago to see her two youngest daughters and their grandchildren. She never missed a baptism, first communion or confirmation, graduation ceremony or Grandparents' Day at school, and she was an ardent fan of her grandchildren at hockey tournaments, football, baseball, basketball and soccer games and Irish step-dancing competitions. She was an avid walker with her friends on the paths of Cotuit Bay Shores and at Pelican Bay in Naples, Florida where she spent winter months with Maurice and friends. Penny volunteered at the library and thrift store at Christ the King Parish in Mashpee and served as a member of the Boards of the Friends of the Cotuit Library. For Penny, there was never enough time in the day for all she wanted to accomplish.
Penny was a devoted spouse, mother, and friend. All that came in within her orbit were impacted by her caring and giving nature, relentless positive spirit, strong sense of faith and seemingly limitless energy. She loved to entertain and bring people together to celebrate significant milestones.
Penny was predeceased by her parents, the late Fred and Vera Wingeier of Alto, Michigan, and is survived by her husband of 52 years, Maurice H. Sullivan, Jr., formerly of Brighton, Massachusetts, her son Skip and daughter-in-law Carrie (Kress) of Hingham, Massachusetts, daughter Cara and son-in-law Patrick Lyons of Norwood, Massachusetts, daughter Elizabeth and son-in-law Craig Cookson of Washington, D.C., and daughter Maureen and son-in-law Brian Dixon of Kenilworth, Illinois, her nine grandchildren, Patrick, Madelyn, Maximilian (Max), Anderson, Brady, John (Jack), Thomas, Clara and Amelia (Milly). Penny is also survived by her brother-in-law James Sullivan of Brighton, Massachusetts, and nieces Lynne Vozzella and Maura Richards, both of Milton, Massachusetts, and by her first cousins Stan, Larry and Bruce Wingeier, all of Alto, Michigan.
There will be a visitation at Christ the King Parish at 5 Jobs Fishing Road in Mashpee, Massachusetts, from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 5, 2023, and a funeral service will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, January 6, 2023, at Christ the King Parish at 5 Jobs Fishing Road in Mashpee, Massachusetts, followed by a burial at the New Westwood Cemetery in Westwood, Massachusetts, at 12:30 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Visiting Nurse Association of Cape Cod, 25 Communication Way, Hyannis, Massachusetts, 02601.