One of my Dad’s frequent parting salutations was  – “Illigitimi non carborundum”, “Don’t let the bastards grind you down.” And so he lived, truly. He kept his chin up, eyes and ears open, read at least 3 newspapers while watching 2 channels of TV news daily. He was a giant among people in terms of knowledge. 

He believed in Democracy, the legislative process and in holding our elected officials accountable. He would sniff the trail of evidence, clip and file the articles away, long before the internet and build his case. Later, after retirement, he wrote long letters to report the latest injustice or egregious quid pro quo. For my Dad, that was his mission. Public Access TV was one of his passions - to keep open channels for communities for educational and non-profit programming and to protect first amendment rights. He spent a lot of time visioning about that. 

He stood for truth and fairness. He was a public servant reporting on it all so the truth could be brought to light. He had principles. Veritas, as they say at Harvard, and he was a darn good journalist. I remember when we couldn’t eat at Bob’s Big Boy or McDonalds because he didn’t want to support corporate chains. And he recycled all those newspapers. He was skeptical about the microwave. He kept using his typewriter long after computer word processing became ubiquitous. He liked to putter around the yard with a cigar. He was a classic kind of guy.

His deep announcer’s voice comes through me and sometimes my voice shows up bigger than I intended. But instead of getting smaller, I’m just going to say thank you, Dad, for giving me this voice, and for giving me your heart and for showing me what being a good human being looks like. You always showed up for your family with heart and good humor. Illigitimi non-carborundum indeed. 

I hope your soul is at peace, and you are receiving the love, respect and kindness that you truly deserve. I will love you always, Dad.

Your daughter,
Sharon Alexandra Sullivan

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Alex Sullivan

27 marzo, 1932 – 28 marzo, 2025

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Alex Sullivan

27 marzo, 1932 – 28 marzo, 2025

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