Mary Cecilia Sullivan

She was born September 11, 1948 and although she had six brothers and sisters, it was her sister, Pat, that she was the closest to. Mary was a bride at 18 years old and a mother at 19, on Long Island, NY where she was surrounded by all of her friends and family in a small, largely Italian immigrant, community. In an effort to secure a better future for herself and her only child, a daughter, she moved to Fayetteville, North Carolina in 1976, following a very close friend of hers, Barbara Dobson. It was there that she met John Sullivan, whom she married in 1978.

Mary and John left North Carolina after John finished his tour of duty with the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, he was a paratrooper. They settled in John’s hometown of Gulf Breeze, Florida for several years before relocating to Houston, Texas where they built a life together and a small business. Mary attended college while they lived in Florida, majoring in art and although she had an artistic gift, her real talent was business! She had no formal training, but she started and ran 3 successful small businesses in her lifetime.

Her first business was in Houston where she started cleaning houses and grew that business such that she was able to add several employees and eventually sold that business when they moved to Georgia where John’s brother, Bill had settled. Once in Georgia, Mary and John started another business where she utilized her self taught skills to keep the books. After the 911 tragedy Mary felt a calling to return to New York where they started and ran a small “Mom & Pop” business on Staten Island until John passed away in 2020 from a heart attack.

After John, her husband of 42 years, passed, Mary moved to Houston to be with her daughter and her family. Mary was most happy with her family and enjoyed watching with pride, her granddaughters grow up! In Houston, Mary received treatment for serious health issues and it was emphysema that finally took her life. She is survived by her daughter, Victoria with her husband, Randy along with their daughters, Abigail and Alexia with her husband, Sean. Mary is also survived by her niece, Michelle Rowland who was more like a daughter to her. Mary was very devoted to Michelle, her husband, Roy, and their son, Ryan. A special thank you to Helen Johnson, who was a very loving caregiver to Mary in her final days. Helen was surely an angel sent to Mary!

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to St. John Vianney Catholic Church, Houston, Texas.