David J. Sullivan, husband of Ethna (Lynch) Sullivan, passed away peacefully on Saturday, July 6, 2024 at the age of 86 years old. In addition to his wife Ethna, to whom he was married for 56 years, he will be dearly missed by his daughter, Carolyn (Sullivan) Schlichtig and her husband Bill; his son, David Sullivan and his wife, Stacey; and five grandchildren who adored him, their “B”: William, Meghan and Matthew Schlichtig, and Samantha and Charlotte Sullivan.
In addition to his wife, children and grandchildren, Dave is survived by his sister Patricia Ramsey and her son, William, and several nieces and nephews, including his treasured niece, Colleen Lynch. In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by his brother Peter Sullivan.
Dave was born on July 10, 1937 in Manhattan, NY, the first child of the late James L. Sullivan and Elizabeth (Kelly) Sullivan. Raised in Inwood, NY, Dave’s youth lived vividly in his memories that he shared with family and friends throughout the years. He was a graduate of Good Shepherd School, Manhattan Prep High School (‘55) and Manhattan College, Class of 1964, in addition to proudly serving in the Army National Reserves. He was a standout athlete in his prime, excelling in track, basketball and baseball. His love of sports never subsided, whether it be coaching his kids or sitting in the bleachers watching his children and grandchildren in all of their activities. Basketball was his particular passion, and he coached for many years at St. Joseph School in Danbury, started the Greater Danbury Parochial League Boys JV tournament and founded a summer playground basketball league in Danbury in the late 1980’s.
Dave started his work life in finance after graduating with his BBA in Accounting. On a lunch break one day, he wandered into a trade show in Manhattan where he discovered the world of office filing systems and his career took off from there. He worked for Acme Visible Filing Systems for 8 years before his entrepreneurial spirit took hold and he founded his family business, Axis II Business Systems, in 1979. In later years he pursued his passion of tracing family history and legacies and established Descendant Trails, a legacy planning service whose purpose was to ensure that everyone is left with a legacy of Love, Knowledge and Understanding.
A man of many monikers, most of them self-proclaimed, some knew him as Deuce, others as Sureshot, Big Bunny, Goosey Gus and many as just “B”, a name bestowed on him by his grandchildren. Regardless of what you called him, he was ready to make you laugh, regale you with his stories, cheer you on from the stands and dance with you until the party ended.
The family will receive friends at Green Funeral Home, 57 Main St., Danbury, on Thursday, July 11, 2024 from 4pm to 7pm.
A Mass of Christian Burial to celebrate David’s life will be held on Friday, July 12 at 11:00am at Saint Mary Church, Bethel. Interment at St. Mary Cemetery will be private.
Memorial contributions are requested to be made to Tunnels to Towers Foundation, or Regional Hospice (Danbury).
https://t2t.org/
https://regionalhospicect.org/
