Obituary of Daniel J. Sullivan

On Thursday, March 11th, 2021, Daniel Joseph Sullivan Sr., loving son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and uncle passed away peacefully at home with family at the age of 94.

Dan was born on November 14th, 1926 in Orono, Maine to Harold Martin Sullivan Sr. and Mary Mitchell Sullivan, and the family later moved to Bucksport, Maine. He was the oldest of eight siblings, raised in the midst of the Great Depression on the family’s small farm. At the age of 16, he lost his father and became a provider, working at the local paper mill while maintaining his place on the high school baseball team, an accomplishment of which he was very proud. He learned to drive on an old Ford Model A. At the age of 17, he enlisted in the army, missing his high school graduation to join the forces during World War II. His mother accepted his high school diploma on his behalf, to a standing ovation.

He was married at 24 and tragically widowed at 25, becoming a single father to infant daughter, Kate. Seven years later, he met and fell in love with Marguerita Costanza. They were married for 47 years, raising Kate together and welcoming six more children.

Dan loved fishing, camping, hunting, and farming. It was his love of those activities that lured him to Alaska with his new bride in 1960, where he taught mathematics at Dimond High School in Anchorage. They lived there for 19 years before returning to New England in 1979 to settle in Bangor, Maine.

Dan graduated from Bucksport High School in 1945 and received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mathematics from the University of Maine in Orono and a second master’s in education from the University of Colorado Boulder. He was a teacher for more than 40 years, in Massachusetts, Alaska, and Maine.

After retiring, he and Marguerita derived a great deal of joy from their Catholic faith, attending morning Mass almost every day, and socializing after Mass over coffee and breakfast with their beloved group of church friends, with whom they volunteered at the Dorothy Day Soup Kitchen. He was also a Fourth Degree Knight of Columbus. Dan and Marguerita enjoyed traveling to visit friends and family, especially to see any of their 16 grandchildren. Dan continued to enjoy hunting, fishing, farming, and gardening into his 80s. He was thrilled when he qualified for his Maine Lifetime Hunting & Fishing License at age 70, which he made good use of. He relished his nightly high ball almost to the end.

Dan is predeceased by first wife Carol Witham Sullivan, second wife Marguerita Costanza Sullivan, parents Harold and Mary Sullivan, siblings Joanne Sullivan, Mary Lou Lehman, Harold Sullivan, and Dorothy (Dorsey) Hutchinson, and granddaughter Maria Therese Sullivan.

Dan is survived by his children, Kate Sullivan (Sebastopol CA), Maria Sullivan Davenport and her husband Robert Davenport (Kingston NY), Daniel Sullivan Jr. and his wife Sherri Audette Sullivan (Lewiston ME), Louis Sullivan and his wife Pamela Burbank Sullivan (Lisbon Falls ME), Joseph Sullivan and his husband Patrick Blouin (Montreal, Canada), Paula Sullivan (Portsmouth NH), and Rita Sullivan King and her husband Andrew King (Portland ME), as well as by 16 grandchildren (Aleah Davenport Blue, Maggie Davenport, Hunter Davenport, Brandon Davenport, Tara Flagg, Anthony Sullivan, Rachelle Sullivan, Mindy Smith, Rebekah Robson, Daniel E. Sullivan, Kassidy Sullivan, Katie Sullivan, Nathaniel Sullivan, Emma Sullivan, Lowell King, and David King), seven great-grandchildren, many nieces and nephews, and siblings Bunny Davis (Vermillion SD), Donna Joseph (Bangor ME), and John Sullivan (Kasilof AK). 

The family will hold a private visitation and a Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated 1:00 pm Wednesday, March 17, 2021 at St. Paul the Apostle Parish, St. John’s Catholic Church, Bangor. The Mass will be live streamed: HERE

The family is planning a burial ceremony and reception that will be open to friends and family in summer 2021. In lieu of flowers, donations in Dan’s memory can be made to the following organizations: Dorothy Day Soup Kitchen, P.O. Box 1101, Bangor, Maine 04402-1101 (make check payable to Bangor Salvation Army and write "Dorothy Day Soup Kitchen" in the memo) or online at nne.salvationarmy.org/bangor/dorothy-day-soup-kitchen (please write "Dorothy Day Soup Kitchen" in the comments) or to Make-A-Wish Maine, 66 Mussey Road, Scarborough ME 04074 or online at maine.wish.org.