Obituary of Doris Sullivan

Doris (Brazil) Sullivan passed away at the Carleton-Willard Village in Bedford on Monday morning, May 24, 2010. The wife of the late Joseph W. Sullivan, she was 81 years old. Doris was born in Boston. She was raised and educated in East Boston. Doris and her husband settled in Lexington in 1953 where they raised their 7 children. When her children were young she worked part-time for the Lexington Police Department as a School Crossing Guard. In 1977 she went back to school attending Middlesex Community College. Doris had a full schedule while attending Middlesex. She still had five of her seven children at home and was still working as a Crossing Guard. But with all that on her plate she graduated in 1979 with an Associate’s Degree and a G.P.A. of 3.65. Doris then went on graduate from Northeastern University in 1982 with a Bachelor of Science Degree. She then retired as a School Crossing Guard and went to work in the Information Systems Department at Hewlett Packard in Lexington and Andover. Joe and Doris retired in 1988 and moved to Centerville in Cape Cod. They would split their time spending half the year at the Cape and the other six months Spring Hill, FL. In 2001 they made their permanent home in Spring Hill, FL. Doris has a busy and full life in Florida. She went line dancing three days a week and was always out and about with her many friends. Doris had an outgoing personality and a wonderful sense of humor. She loved spending time with her children and their families. She was appreciative of whatever you did for her. Doris was a loving and caring wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother and friend. Doris was the beloved wife of the late Joseph W. Sullivan who passed away in 2008. She was the loving mother of Georgette Mousseau of Bradford & Spring Hill, FL, Jacqueline Tiano of Westford, Joseph Sullivan of Bedford, Betty Clark of Burlington, Doris Sullivan of Arlington, Kathleen Alexander of Spring Hill, FL, and Patricia Sullivan of Billerica. Sister of the late William Brazil, Thomas Brazil, and Norma Farnkoff. Also survived by 13 grandchildren & 11 great grandchildren. Funeral from the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn St., BURLINGTON (Exit 34 off Rt. 128, Woburn side) on Thursday, May 27 at 9 a.m. Followed by a Mass of Christian Burial in St. Margaret’s Church, 111 Winn St., Burlington at 10 a.m. Visiting hours Wednesday 4-8 p.m. Interment in Westview Cemetery, Lexington. Doris B. Sullivan On behalf of my sisters, Georgette, Jackie, Doris, Kathy, Patty and our brother Joe, I would like to thank you for coming today to honor our Mother, Doris B. Sullivan. As a daughter, sister, wife, Mother, Grandmother, Great Grandmother, friend and professional woman, our Mother accomplished so many things in her 81 years. Today, I would like to share with you, some of those accomplishments regarding our remarkable Mom. Born in 1929 to working class Irish and English parents, Gertrude and John, Doris was one of the 7 Brazil children from East Boston. A lanky tom boy, our Mom idealized her 2 brothers Tom and Jack, tagging along side of them and challenging them, all the way. A feminist long before it became popular, she felt that she could do anything they could do, but better. A fierce protector of her younger sisters, Norma and Arlene, she thrived in her Irish and Italian catholic neighborhood. A gifted student from a Catholic elementary school, our Mom went on to public high school and did well until her dad’s death when she was only 16 years old. However, her strong mother, Gert, as she was called by friends and family, continued to guide her and be a major presence throughout her life. In the early 50’s with 2 small children, our Mom met and fell in love with a young Marine from Watertown, named Joe. The first night he met Mom, our Dad told her he was going to marry her and he did a short time later. They settled in Lexington and began to raise their ever growing family. Our Mom raised us like a small army. She was so organized and everyone had their assigned chores to do. My sister Jackie’s favorite memory was on Friday nights after doing all her chores, she had hot chocolate with Mom. With 7 children it was not always easy to get time alone with Mom. Our Mom was famous for her direct words of wisdom. When one of us would complain when we worked a lot of hours, she would retort, “no money in my pocket.” When we stayed out late partying as teenagers or young adults, she would yell early the next morning, “get out of bed, nothing is made in bed, but babies.” She was always pushing us in school, saying “get an education, they can’t take it away from you.” and trying to get us all to save money, she would say, “take care of your pennies, they will grow into dollars.” Mom was not only a marvelous Mother, but a dotting Grandmother as well. For many years she took my son Patrick and my nephew James, down the Cape for a week each summer. She accompanied them everywhere and tried to teach them practical life lessons. Once she told Patrick when he constantly asked her to purchase items for him, “Patrick money does not grow on trees” For which he replied, “Nana if you need money, why don’t you just get a job.” It did not matter that she was 70 years old at the time. She delighted in telling that story. Our Mom is now back with our Dad, her husband of 57 years. Like many couples, they occasionally had differences, but they intensely loved each other. Dad was the dreamer and Mom was the practical one who figured out how to accomplish their dreams. When our Mom graduated from Middlesex College and went to work for Hewlett and Packard, Dad often complained that Mom was no longer able to have his tea ready from him when he arrived home from work at 3:30 every day, like it had been for over 20 years. However, this changed one weekend when they saw a house they wanted to purchase, down the Cape that they both fell in love with it. Dad had no idea that Mom had been saving every dollar she made for something special for them both. He was quite surprised when she was able to provide the down payment and in awe of her resourcefulness. He never complained again. Mom never made her self the priority; she was always doing for others. She never complained, even when things looked ominous. The past 6 months have been very difficult with her so sick in Florida but at each medical facility she was in, the staff often described her as an angel and that it was a privilege to work on her, because she never complained. Jackie and Joe begged her to come home in the fall when she first got sick but she said it was too cold. She so loved Florida, where she had made her home for the last 19 years. When she first became sick my sister, Kathy, who lives in Florida, took exceptional care of her. Last month she did finally come home with our sisters Georgette and Patty by her side. She was at Lahey Clinic for 9 days before going to Carlton Willard for her last week. She was surrounded by her family and loved seeing everyone. Last Friday night she was so funny bantering with my brother Joe. You would not have ever known she was so sick. She left us early Monday morning, she just could not fight any longer. She will be sorely missed by each and everyone of us. She was the glue that held our family together, but we all share in special memories regarding our Mom. We all so lucky to have been able to call her Mom. May she rest in peace. Thank you, The Family of Doris B. Sullivan