Jimmy was born December 6, 1933, to William Carl Sullivan and Clara Ellen Wilkins near the southern Illinois town of Temple Hill on the Wilkins’s family farm. He grew up in Hampton, Illinois, near the Mississippi River with four brothers (two older, Leonard and Charles (Red), and two younger, Donald and Gary).
Jimmy was a proud 1951 graduate of United Township High School in East Moline, Illinois. In 1953, he enlisted in the Navy, going through basic training in San Diego, California, and then serving abroad during the Korean War in Taipei, Taiwan, as a cryptologic technician. He was honorably discharged in Washington, DC. After the war, he was employed for a decade at Deere and Company. Always an entrepreneur and successful businessman, Jimmy left John Deere in 1968 to start a construction company with his older brother Charles. The company located in Colona, Illinois, was named Green River Homes and was known for developing the Level Acres subdivision. After a decade, he sold this company, and started an electrical contracting business, Sullivan Electric. When Jimmy retired, he and Nancy became snowbirds, spending half the year in Geneseo, Illinois and the other half in Casa Grande, Arizona.
Jimmy’s favorite pastime was boating on the Mississippi River. Throughout his life in the summer and fall, he’d be with his family and friends each weekend enjoying a day on the river. His other hobbies included cribbage, golf, motorcycling, and table tennis.
He is survived by his loving wife of 66 years, Nancy of Chandler, Arizona; and their three children—Mrs. Teri (Jerry) Wuestenberg of Dixon Iowa; Mr. Douglas (Marge) Sullivan of East Moline, Illinois; and Dr. Jill Sullivan of Chandler, Arizona. Jimmy also is survived by three much-loved grandsons--Denver Strader (Milan, Illinois), Kurtis Sullivan (Albuquerque, New Mexico), and Bryan Sullivan (Gurnee, Illinois) as well as three great-grandchildren, Mia, Lily, and Ryland; and brother Gary Sullivan.
Visitation will be held from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Monday, December 19, 2022 at Weerts Funeral Home, Davenport. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, December 20, 2022 at the funeral home. Burial will follow at Rock Island National Cemetery with full military honors.
