Daniel J. Sullivan

Daniel Joseph Sullivan, 93, of Swampscott died peacefully in Marblehead on Monday, June 18, after a short illness. Danny was a true Marbleheader born in the Mary Alley Hospital on December 29, 1924 to Katherine Brady Sullivan and Albert Victor Sullivan.

Danny graduated from Marblehead High School in 1943 and played football for the MHS Magicians from 1940 to 1942. He was the star quarterback of the 1942 undefeated MHS Magicians with a 9-0-2 record in the days when coaches did not call the plays, the quarterbacks did. One of Danny’s proudest moments was when he was inducted into the Marblehead Magicians Gridiron Club Hall of Fame in 1999. He was a regular attendee of the Club’s Marblehead and Swampscott Old Timers Night annual banquet and really enjoyed reminiscing with his fellow Hall of Famers. Danny was an avid Boston sports fan his entire life and especially loved watching the New England Patriots.

After high school, Danny enlisted in the Navy and served until 1946. After the Navy, Danny attended Providence College where he graduated and became a high school English teacher in Boston. In addition to teaching, Danny worked for many years as editor of the GE employee newspaper in Lynn, and then as a banker retiring from Bank of America.

In 1953, Danny married Marion Louise Gayron of Lynn and had three children. After Marion’s death in 1965, he married Clare Starble McCallion of Woburn with whom he enjoyed 51 years of marriage. Together they enjoyed many years spending time with family and friends at their camp on Pine River Pond in New Hampshire and at their home in Sarasota, Florida.

Danny is survived by his wife, Clare, his children Anne Marie Gaudette and her husband Michael, Elizabeth Freeto and her husband Scott, Christopher and his wife Romilda, Barbara Conti and her husband Tony, Janet Levine and her husband David, John McCallion and his wife Maria, and Laurie Flory and her husband Mark. Grandchildren Michael, Kristen, Danielle, Keira, Stephanie, Lee, Tyler, Michelle, Brian, and Victoria, great-grandchild Kyle as well as numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at Our Lady Star of the Sea Church, 85 Atlantic Avenue, Marblehead on Saturday, June 23 at 10AM. Burial to follow in Waterside Cemetery, Marblehead. Visitation will be held at Eustis and Cornell of Marblehead, 142 Elm Street on Friday, June 22 from 4-7PM. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Danny Sullivan Scholarship Fund c/o the Marblehead Magicians Gridiron Club, P.O. Box 505, Marblehead, MA 01945.