Obituary of Shirley B Sullivan

Shirley (Beaucaire) Sullivan passed away on Monday, August 20, 2018 after a brief illness. She was born on Martha's Vineyard on October 29, 1938 to Edmond (Frenchy) and Beatrice Beaucaire. Shirley attended Tisbury High School and was active in the glee club and was the Homecoming Queen and Senior Class President. Shirley was married for 55 years to Joseph Sullivan of Oro Valley, AZ. They raised their five children, Edmund, Shirley, Sean, Sharon, and Sheryl, in Shelton, CT. Shirley was a mom to everyone on the street where they lived, with enough love for anyone who came in the door. Shirley's love for children overflowed to 4 different foster children over a period of 5 years. She was very active in her children's lives and loved celebrating everything with something from her kitchen. A favorite treat from Shirley was her award-winning banana bread. She was an exceedingly hard worker, from her teens at the A&P on the Vineyard to Pagliaro's and Dogwood Café in Shelton to the Village Bakery in Oro Valley (who remembers her on their menu, Shirley's favorite sandwich!) She was warm and caring to everyone and was helpful above and beyond what anyone expected of her. Everyone who met Shirley loved her, and she loved everyone she met. She had a huge smile, a giant laugh, a sparkle in her eye, joy in her heart and a generous spirit. She loved trying new things and always wanted to learn something new. She approached everything with enthusiasm and a child-like awe, whether it was vacationing with one of her children's families, hiking with her friends, serving her church and the community or chatting with her grandchildren via texts. Shirley was baptized as one of Jehovah's Witnesses on June, 25, 1988. She was proud of her faith and loved her congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses in both Connecticut and Arizona. They were a second family to her, providing love, comfort, support, and friendship. She took great comfort in her faith and actively sharing her beliefs with others. She enjoyed hiking the Arizona mountains, preaching in the community, having lunch with her neighbors, exercising with friends at Silver Sneakers and vacationing with her children. She visited Hawaii, Disney World, Maine, Sedona, the Grand Canyon, Cape Cod, Florida, cruises, and most recently a trip to La Jolla, CA with her daughters. She loved the ocean and being outside walking and talking to people. Shirley is survived by her husband, Joseph, son Edmund Sullivan, daughter Shirley Lamy (Larry) of Tucson, son Sean Sullivan (Carla) of Shelton, CT, daughter Sharon Machuga (Alan) of Palm Beach Gardens, FL and daughter Sheryl Fenn (Bill) of Madison, CT, sisters Lorraine Clark (Richard), Loretta Croft (Al) and Rosemary Kauke (Herb). She is also survived by her beloved grandchildren, Ryan and his wife Melanie, Tyler and his wife Bethany, Shannon, Kelsey, Elise, Matthew, Mei Li, Cai Li, Tim, Mike and his wife Jen, and her great-granddaughters, Rory, Julia and Molly. Shirley had many friends who provided love and comfort, and will miss her dearly. Our world will miss the light that Shirley was to everyone she met.