August 25, 2023
REST IN PEACE
Joseph Robert Sullivan, (89), passed away on August 25th, 2023 in Dallas, Texas. He was surrounded by his loving family at his home of 40+ years.
Joseph Sullivan, known to most as Joe, was born May 30th, 1934, in Chicago, IL. His parents, James and Mary Sullivan, raised Joe and his five siblings in an Irish Catholic home. Joe found a calling to ministry at an early age. After graduating from Quigly High School, Joe entered the seminary at Holy Cross in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Later, he went to St. Mary’s in Baltimore, Maryland to complete theological training. He was ordained a Roman Catholic Priest in 1960. He served the church in this formal capacity until 1970.
In 1970, Joe made the decision to leave the priesthood to focus on continued personal and professional development. He was awarded his master’s degree at Wisconsin State and moved back to Chicago to pursue his doctorate at Loyola University. It was in Chicago where his friendship with Elaine Albracht blossomed into his one true love and future wife.
He and Elaine married in 1972 and started a family with the birth of Kevin in 1973. Kieran, his second son, arrived two years later in 1975. The family loved being in Chicago with Joe and Elaine’s relatives nearby. Summers were spent on Lake Michigan and picnicking at Grant Park, and winters building snowmen and shoveling driveways. In 1980, Joe accepted a Vice President role at Brookhaven Community College in Dallas, Texas.
While the initial transition was difficult, they spent the next 41 years in the same house and established Texas roots. Until retirement, Joe worked throughout the Dallas Community College system, created a thriving counseling practice with Elaine, was an early advocate for Emotional Intelligence and personality assessments, volunteered for social justice, and lectured at educational conferences during summers (always with the boys in tow). Joe was always present and an involved husband and father. Once the grandchildren started arriving in 2011, Joe found new purpose in his favorite role as “Poppy.”
Joe loved to celebrate, travel, read, frequent Broadway musicals and movies, host holiday meals, and most of all spending time with his boys and grandchildren. He will be remembered for his hospitality, empathy, patience, compassion, humor, laughter, presence, and his warm smile. Joe never met a stranger. He will be missed and loved by all.
Joe is predeceased by his siblings, Maureen, JJ, Kathy, Danny, and many other beloved family and friends. He is survived by his wife, Elaine, his children Kevin (Anna), Kieran, and his devoted grandchildren Oscar, Liam, Emmett, and Lauren. He is also survived by his sister, Eileen.
Funeral Mass at St. Rita - Friday, September 8, 2023, at 1P. A celebration of life to follow.
Joe was a long time CORPUS member and an enthusiastic member of the CALL TO ACTION chapter, "Open Window".