Dear Craig and family,
So sorry for the loss of your sister.
Know that your memories will bring great comfort to you.

My condolences,
Maureen M.

We always think we’ll have more time for another talk with someone and more shared moments with them— but life rarely works according to plan.    
MJ was my college professor, mentor and later a good friend. She kept in contact with me regularly after I graduated, often collaborating with several of my film student friends and regularly meeting with me for deep talks I will always treasure at our regular meeting place, Urban Steam.   

MJ was eccentric, intuitive, intellectual, a firecracker who defied convention, a protestor against things she saw as wrong in the world and someone who boldly took her time crafting her art and stories she felt the world needed to hear.
         
Every time I met with her, I would come away with books to read, videos/movies to watch and “things MJ casually mentioned that were so fascinating I need to Google more on the topic.” 
   
She was such an inspiration to me and beyond that, she was such a supportive mentor. She always encouraged me to pursue filmmaking as storytelling; experiment with art; write stories/poems/my thoughts; journal; document life; and chase my biggest dreams.

In 2019, we had one of our last in-person meetings at our usual place. I told her about my difficult decision to leave Colorado and  move to Los Angeles for a job opportunity. I heavily weighed the pros and cons but was sad to leave my friends/family/network behind if I chased an opportunity. She was nothing but encouraging, telling me stories  about her life in New York—how thrilling it was to live in the city and how much experiencing new places gives you perspective. I soaked up all of her advice.
    
After I left that meeting, she sent me a message on Facebook:
“…Here is the lesson I know for a fact: never overthink your intuition or imagination. Who you are is already embodied and you will seek out your stories.”
    
I’m going to really miss hearing hers.

 Like, Sue, I met MJ in the Alps. Since we stayed in touch although it became harder once I moved to Southeast Asia. Just before the pandemic I was try8ing to see how we could get her to visit Malaysia. Just knowing MJ was there helped make life a bit more bearable.  

I remember MJ as a loving friend and deeply principled visionary. Poet, philosopher, thinker, talker, advocate, she embodied a quest for peace, for listening, for translating experience. We were lucky to know her in our time together on earth.

I think of MJ as just always seeking to do the kind and right thing. We knew each other as part of NYC grassroots organizing in the early 1980’s, and spent some time almost alone (not sure how that could have been possible?) together at the Women’s Encampment outside the Seneca Army Depot, in 1985 I think. 

Another old friend of hers just spoke to me of her as a “deep soul” and I think that is exactly right. Aware , and carrying the pain, of our world while also celebrating and working toward the light.

I remember her as a hardworking visionary, and a precious, committed member of our global movement for justice, liberation & peace. Along with the HistoryColorado.org, we will also honor her life by giving to WarResisters.org and YesMagazine.org. Her memory is a blessing.

I met MJ in the Swiss alps in seminars with Jean Beaudrillard,  Jean Luc Nancy, Georgio Agamben, Judith Butler, Avital Ronell, Chantal Ackerman, Barbara Hammer and so, so many more thinkers of the impossible possible. We discovered we had overlapping experience in media for change, spiritual and contemplative practices  and poetic communities. MJ and I collaborated on many,  many projects in the past few decades—from co-teaching Documentary for Change, Walking As Knowing, Poetry for Change and Watershed Thinking in Detroit and Colorado.  I treasured our regular conversations on the life of the mind and applying thinking to our current times.  MJ is irreplaceable. 

You were always cool Aunt MJ to all of us cousins, but you were extra special to me throughout my life. You gave me my first camera, took me to my first craft fair and choir concert. You were the reason i saw my first band Groovelily, in the city, starting a love of alternative music.  You shared so much of yourself with the world, and I always felt so special when you took time to share your passions with me. I read and wrote poetry in college because of you, and found a true love of photography ever since the first day you handed me a camera. Having never been christened, I started calling you my unofficial god mother when I was little, because you influenced so much of my passions and creativity at a young age. I may have grown up and lost touch with you over the years, but I did and now always will think of you when I read a new poet, belt out to choir music, or get lost behind a camera lens. Your larger than life personality will be missed. I can only hope I can do the same for my nieces/nephews as you did for me. I hope you and Dad are having a big bash up there. Love you always - Colleen

Lovely woman and good crab picker too.
 XOX

MJ was my upstairs neighbor in 2020. She was the sweetest human—always bringing gifts of wine, sage, and stories. One day, I locked myself out of my apartment in the middle of winter while only wearing a robe. After many attempts at breaking back into my place, I sheepishly made my way upstairs to MJ. She was a bit befuddled at my bare feet, but let me in with enthusiasm. She made me tea, let me use her phone, and we talked for about an hour waiting for the locksmith. That’s just the person she was. We stayed in contact when I moved away, and shared a mutual love of our pets, nature, and diversity. She was hoping to visit me in Michigan this Spring. MJ, you are missed. Thank you for being a friend. 

So many fond memories of you and our adventures together.  I have  been struggling to put in to words how much you've meant to me.  Growing up, I looked up to and admired you most. A large part of who I am is because of you. 

From poetry, to road trips, visits to museums, appreciation of art, and sometimes mishaps on an adventure, you made an indelible mark on my life.  For that I cannot thank you enough.   I will forever miss you, my Cool Aunt MJ. 

Message from MJ (Thu, Jun 4, 2015, 10:18 PM)
to me

Subject: Knowing is a walkabout...

Keats is vital to the continuum of the lyric. 

Btw: the best birthday of my life was fifteen years ago at Wentworth place with you. Aging well and deep in being at a place that lets wisdom flow. 

Poetry is everything. 

AVIS DE DÉCÈS

Mary Jane Sullivan

14 mai 1950 – 7 février 2022

Swan-Law Funeral Directors

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