Mary Murphy Sullivan

Mary Sullivan, 86, of Charlottesville, formerly of Reston, passed away on Monday, December 9, 2019, in Charlottesville, Virginia. Mary Theresa Murphy was born January 15, 1933, in Boston, Massachusetts, the daughter of the late Francis Leo Murphy, Sr. and Mary Catherine Monahan. Mary was a graduate of Dorchester High School for Girls and later graduated from Northern Virginia Community College. She worked as a secretary for Boston Gas Company for 15 years and at Manpower in Washington, D.C, where she met her future husband, John Sullivan. They were married on October 4, 1969, in Washington, D.C. She also worked at Hunters Woods Elementary School and Langston Hughes Middle School as an administrative assistant. Mary loved all things art: painting, drawing, calligraphy, and art history. She enjoyed authoring the newsletter at Waterford Square in Reston, and was involved in League of Reston Artists, woodworking at Reston Community Center and volunteering at Hunters Woods Elementary School. She received several commendations for volunteer hours at Reston Community Center. In addition to her parents, Mary is preceded in death by her husband, John Sullivan, and her brother, Francis Leo Murphy, Jr. Mary is survived by her two daughters: Jennifer Sullivan and her wife Suzette of Dublin, California, and Diane Sullivan of Ringgold, Georgia, and a grandson, Bryce. Funeral services will be held 11 a.m. on Friday, January 3, 2019, at St. Thomas à Becket Catholic Church, 1421 Wiehle Avenue, Reston, Virginia. The family will receive friends an hour prior to the service. Burial will take place at Chestnut Grove Cemetery, Herndon, Virginia. The Sullivan family wishes to extend a special thanks to Westminster Canterbury of the Blue Ridge, 3rd floor health care and all her caregivers for their care, kindness, and compassion. Memorial contributions may be made in Mary Sullivan’s name to the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.