Sheila Sullivan

September 11, 1941 – February 21 2001

Natick Bulletin February 2001

Sheila W. Sullivan of Wayland, formerly of Natick, died Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2001, at Emerson Hospital in Concord following a long illness. She was 59.

Born in Worcester, she was the daughter of Roland and Barbara (Strout) Sullivan, both of Framingham.

A longtime Wayland resident, she previously lived in Natick and was a 1959 graduate of Natick High School.

An administrative assistant at Alpha Industries in Woburn, she enjoyed needlework, her cats and reading.

Besides her parents, she leaves two sisters, Rebecca M. Sullivan of Framingham and Lucinda Metsch of Maynard; a brother, Craig Sullivan of Norwood; two nieces and four nephews; two step nieces; and her friends Maggie and Paul Plisinski of North Andover.

A funeral service was held Feb. 23 at the John C. Bryant Funeral Home in Wayland. Burial will be at the Lakeview Cemetery in Cochituate at a later date.

Memorial donations may be made to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society Massachusetts Chapter, 101 First Ave., Suite 6, Waltham, MA 02154.

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Shelia was married for only a couple of years before she learned she had Multiple Sclerosis. She and her husband divorced soon after the diagnosis. Sheila lived in the Natick area her whole life. After her disease had progressed and caused her to be homebound, Sheila worked for a charitable organization, performing phone work from out of her home. She worked for as long as she was able, doing what she could to help others.

During the last years of her life, Sheila lived in an assisted care facility in Natick, enjoying the company of her cat and with the support and help of her parents and sister. I recall that Sheila always had a jigsaw puzzle in progress on her card table, as she was an avid puzzle maker. Sheila died a few years ago.

I’ll always remember Sheila as a friendly, caring and upbeat person. She maintained a positive and cheerful manner through out her life, despite her long years of illness.

Karen Moore Glatt

Memorial posted by her sister Rebecca in 2001

My sister Sheila was one of the most courageous people I have ever known. She was twenty when I was born, but the age difference never prevented us from being close. Yes, we had the same parents. When I was young she would take me everywhere with her. I always felt so proud when I was with her, she was tall, beautiful and fun to be with.

When she was twenty-nine she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. She quickly went from walking with a cane to her wheelchair where she would spend the rest of her life. I never once heard her ever say, "why me?" Instead she lived her life doing the things she could and never complained about what she couldn't do or what had been taken from her.

I miss her everyday. I miss our chats. She was very easy to talk to, never quick to judge anyone. Always a kind word for everyone. Sheila spent two months in the hospital years ago fighting off a severe infection, and I remember her saying the nurses used to come into her room at night and ask her advice on their personal problems. Like she would do for me, she would always steer them in the right direction and offer up good advice.

After living with MS for 30 years her body just ran out of fight, and she developed pneumonia and while trying to fight that off she suffered a massive stroke. She passed away the following day very peacefully with all of us at her side.

I know she's now walking freely looking down on us.