John Lawrence Sullivan

1943 - 2021

Sullivan, John Lawrence MT. KISCO, N.Y. John Lawrence Sullivan, 77, died on March 10, 2021, due to complications from COVID-19. He passed peacefully at Westchester Medical Center with his oldest child by his side and the rest of his family there in spirit. John was born on July 25, 1943, in Dorchester, Mass., the oldest child of John and Madeline Sullivan. He studied at La Salette Seminary, Catholic University, and Albany Medical Center, and spent 33 years as a physician assistant in the Capital Region. He was a compassionate clinician who treated generations of families as a family practice and geriatric provider with Community Care Physicians in Latham and East Greenbush, and with Whitney Young Community Health Center, in Albany. He taught physician assistants at Albany Medical Center, and served as the president of the Association Academy of Physician Assistants. An active voice in the community, John volunteered as an EMT for many years on ambulances in Boston and in Nassau and served on the boards of the Nassau Library, Friends of Camp Little Notch, and the East Greenbush Central School District Board of Education, where he was elected for two terms as board president. John followed the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism and was a student of Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche. "I do not consider death a particularly terrible thing, to be avoided at all costs," John wrote in his living will. "It is a mere transition, governed by karma and cause-and-effect, leading to another life in Samsara and, eventually, to Buddhahood." John is survived by his wife of 41 years, Sandra Birnbaum; his children, Darren (wife Micole Allekotte), Eric (wife Jennifer), and Margeaux; grandchildren, Atlas, Guinevere, and Malakai; and many family pets. He is also survived by his brother, Richard; and is predeceased by his sister, Kathleen. A celebration of John's life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider a donation to the Buddhist center formed by Traleg Rinpoche: E-Vam Institute; evam.org/donate.