Joan Harriet (Kramer) Sullivan passed away after a short illness on Friday, January 9, 2025. She was 90 years old.

Joan was born in Cambridge, the daughter of Morris and Dorothy Kramer. Her father owned a corner store in Cambridge and the family lived above the store. As a young girl, Joan helped her mother and father, learning the value of hard work and responsibility. She attended Cambridge High and Latin, where she excelled academically and was vice president of the dramatic club, a member of the prom committee, basketball, softball, volleyball, tennis and drill teams. Joan was a proud member of the Class of 1952. She later studied English at Boston University.

One of Joan’s first jobs was working as a clerk at the Cambridge Courthouse. It was there that she met a fellow employee, Bill Sullivan. The couple married and eventually settled in Burlington, where Joan raised their two sons and made her home for 56 years. She chose to put her career on hold to focus on raising her two very active boys. Both Joan and Bill were avid sports enthusiasts and encouraged their sons to try a wide variety of sports to discover what they enjoyed most. Joan spent most afternoons carting the boys to football, basketball, lacrosse, baseball, swimming, sailing, gymnastics and tennis practices and games. Living in a house full of men, sporting events were almost always on the television, something Joan thoroughly enjoyed.

Joan held season tickets during the early years of a newly founded American Football League team, the Boston Patriots, attending games at Boston University Field, Harvard Stadium and Fenway Park. She was also a loyal fan of the Boston Red Sox and Bruins. She especially loved that her sons grew to share her love of sports and treasured the times when the family gathered together to watch games.

Joan’s husband Bill worked for Trans World Airlines for the majority of his career and Joan made sure the family took full advantage of the employee travel opportunities. Before having children, she and Bill traveled throughout the United States and Europe. Once their sons were old enough, the family traveled together to England, Hawaii, California, Arizona and many other destinations. Her sons thought it was perfectly normal to jet-set around the world. Joan firmly believed in giving her children every opportunity possible, through sports, travel, education and life experiences. After their sons were grown, Joan and Bill continued to travel.

Joan was always on the go. When she wasn’t driving her sons around town, she was an active member of several candlepin bowling leagues, where her competitive spirit often shone through. Joan returned to the workforce, working full-time for Leverone & Company, CPA. She was the company’s first employee and remained with the firm until her retirement, helping grow the staff of the business tenfold. As office manager, Joan kept everything running smoothly, organizing the office, managing schedules and serving as a trusted communicator with clients and staff alike. She truly knew how to get things done. In her later years, Joan found a second home at the Burlington Council on Aging and the Burlington Recreation Department. She enjoyed participating in socials, exercise programs, trips and a host of other activities.

Joan lived a very active life until recent months, when her health began to decline. She saw the world, was a loving and supportive wife and a devoted mother. The word most often used to describe Joan was “classy.” She carried herself with grace, elegance, sophistication and possessed strong inner qualities such as kindness, integrity and self-respect. To her family, she was the glue that held everyone together. To her friends, she was a person of genuine warmth and concern. Joan will be lovingly remembered by all whose lives she touched during her 90 remarkable years.

Joan was the beloved wife of the late William Kay Sullivan. She was the proud mother of Wayne K. Sullivan of Burlington and Evan W. Sullivan of St. Petersburg, FL. She was the sister of Andrea Phaneuf & her husband Roger of Virginia, the late Paul Kramer & his surviving wife Marilyn of New York and the late Shirley Kestenbaum & her late husband Leo. Joan was also survived by many nieces, nephews and friends.

Funeral services were private. In lieu of flowers, memorials in Joan’s name may be made to a charity of choice.