He was born in Huntington, Indiana to George Donnelly and Jeanne E. Sullivan, and was a lifetime resident of Indianapolis. He graduated from Park (Tudor) School, and Cathedral High School, and received a BA in history from Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia in 1956 and his law degree, cum laude, from Washington and Lee School of Law in 1958. He served for two years in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War.
Following law school, Judge Sullivan returned to Indiana and served as a Deputy Attorney General from 1958 to 1961. From 1961 to 1965, he engaged in the private practice of law with Minton, Mosiman, Sullivan & Johnson in Indianapolis. He was a Senior Commissioner with the Marion County Probate Court from 1963 to 1964 and a judge on the Marion County Civil Trial Court from 1965 to 1969. Judge Sullivan was elected to the Court of Appeals of Indiana in 1968 and retained on the Court by election in 1972, 1982, 1992 and 2002. He retired on July 31, 2007 and began as a senior judge of the Court on August 1, 2007. Judge Sullivan was the longest-serving judge in Court of Appeals history.
During his tenure on the Court of Appeals, Judge Sullivan served on the Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Rules of Practice & Procedure (1975-1980), as an Adjunct Professor at the Indiana University School of Law at Indianapolis, as a Lecturer on law and social policy at Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis, and on American diplomatic history at Indiana University. He was a faculty member at many appellate judges seminars and lectured on "Law and the Layman" for adult education courses for the Indianapolis Public School System. Judge Sullivan was a member of the Indiana Judges Association, the Appellate Judges Conference of the American Bar Association, the Indianapolis Lawyers Commission, the U.S. Government Evaluation Project on Juvenile Law Centers, the Indianapolis Bar Association, the Indiana State Bar Association (where he served on the Board of Governors and, in 1996, as Counsel to the President), and the American Bar Association.
An avid sports fan, for many years he enjoyed serving on the Board of Directors for the Indianapolis Indians and was a recipient of the Sagamore of the Wabash Award. Patrick was a longtime member of Harbour Trees Golf Club where he enjoyed the game of golf with many friends.
Judge Sullivan is survived by his sister Donna Jeanne Kenzler, Jersey City, NJ; mother of his children Bonney Sullivan, Pawleys Island, SC, children: Maureen Sullivan Bennie, Indianapolis, Kevin Sullivan, South Beach, FL, Kelley Romweber, Indianapolis, Brian Sullivan, Indianapolis, Kerry Fautrel, New Market, MD; 6 grandchildren; 6 nieces and nephews; and 16 grand nieces and nephews.
Family and friends will gather on Monday, October 5, 2015 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Feeney-Hornak Keystone Mortuary. Funeral service will be held on Tuesday, October 6, 2015 at 11 a.m. at St. Pius X Catholic Church with a Celebration of Life following at Laurel Hall. Burial will be at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Huntington, IN. Memorial contributions may be made to Cathedral High School, Washington and Lee University, Alzheimer’s Association of Indiana, and American Liver Foundation. Your remembrances and thoughts are welcome at www.feeneyhornakkeystone.com.
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