Joe Sr. was born and raised in Brookline, Massachusetts. He was the son of the late Joseph F. and Johanna Sullivan, and the loving brother of the late Pauline Golden, and the late Frank, Edwin and Robert Sullivan.
Joe graduated from Brookline High School in 1947 and enlisted in the U.S. Army. After his discharge from the service, he attended Boston University and in 1953 met his wife Marcia. It was love at first sight. They recently celebrated their 65th anniversary.
Joe and Marcia settled in Scituate, Massachusetts in 1960, where they spent the majority of their adult lives. They raised their three children, Laura, Mark and Joe, Jr. there, and it was also in Scituate that Joe founded CDF Corporation.
CDF is an industrial packaging company headquartered in Plymouth, MA, with additional operations in Baltimore, MD and Varnamo, Sweden. Joe and Marcia built the company one customer at a time and started with one product, a liner for 55 gallon industrial drums that allowed the drums to be reused. They were joined by their daughter Laura and son Joe in the management of the company. Laura retired in 2015 and CDF is now run by Joe, Jr. The company currently employs over 200 people and Joe was proud to have provided jobs to the community and credited the contributions of the staff for the success of the company.
In addition to his work, Joe loved to golf and belonged to the Hatherly Country Club of Scituate and Laurel Oak Country Club of Sarasota, Florida. He was also a lifelong learner who read avidly, took courses in literature and the arts and belonged to the James Joyce Society and the Classics Group in Sarasota. He also actively participated in the Academy of Lifelong Learning in Sarasota and served as its Chairman of the Board for several years.
In addition to his wife Marcia, Joe is survived by his children Laura (Donald), Mark and Joe, Jr. (Yael) as well as his eight grandchildren Josh, Matthew (Jocelyn), Jake, Emma, Max, Kate, Nora and Miles.
Visiting hours will be held at Richardson-Gaffey Funeral Home at 382 First Parish Road, Scituate, MA, on January 11, 2019 from 4:00-8:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Parkinson’s Foundation.
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