Edward C. Sullivan

He is survived by his sons Brian (Jodie), Kevin (Missy) and Mark (Tamara); his brother Charles (“Tim”) Sullivan; and his grandchildren Connor, Kyle, Samantha, Ryan, Kelly, Sean, Jason, and Leah.

Ed was born July 21, 1936 in Staten Island, NY to Charles and Catherine Sullivan. Upon graduating from Wagner College in 1960 with a degree in mathematics, he went to work at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. His career at NASA began at the dawn of the computer and space age and lasted 42 years. For most of his career, Ed worked with astrophysicists, helping them with complex calculations that supported NASA's scientific research and space exploration programs. He was among the first people to work with IBM 7090 mainframe computers. He retired in 1998 as Assistant Lab Chief.

In 1963, Ed married Marie Cesareo, and they remained together until her passing in 2024. In 1967, Ed and Marie moved into a newly built home in Belair at Bowie, one of the nation's pioneering master-planned communities. They raised their family there and remained in the home for nearly six decades.

Ed was a devoted husband and father whose kindness, patience, and gentle nature left a lasting impression on everyone who knew him. He was never one to seek attention or recognition, preferring time with family, a good book, or a problem worth solving. He also had a talent for tinkering and was always finding creative ways to repair, improve, or repurpose things around the house.

Ed was a voracious reader of historical fiction, science fiction, mathematics, and economics. It was not uncommon for him to finish a large novel in a single weekend. He was a whiz with numbers, so much so that he decided to obtain his CPA license and passed the exam on his first attempt despite having no formal accounting education. Over the course of his life, Ed had various interests and hobbies. He was an avid boater on the Chesapeake Bay and taught his children how to crab and fish for striped bass and bluefish. He also enjoyed golf, bowling, and jogging in his earlier years.

A viewing and short service will be held at Robert E. Evans Funeral Home (16000 Annapolis Road, Bowie, MD 20715) at 10:00am on Saturday, July 18, 2026. The viewing and service will be followed by a procession to Lakemont Memorial Gardens (900 W. Central Avenue, Davidsonville, MD 21035), where family and friends may gather for a brief graveside service to honor his memory and pay their final respects.