As many of you know, our friend and colleague Mary Sullivan was suddenly taken from us on Tuesday, August 12, 2008. Mary was a warm and generous person, always willing to go the extra mile for a friend or acquaintance.
Mary’s more than 20 year career was nearly always spent at Johns Hopkins. First known among the Hopkins community as Mary Meehan, she began her career shortly after completing her undergraduate degree at the University of Maryland. She worked in the Hospital in the blood bank and virology laboratory.
Her great odyssey began around 1996 when she packed up her daughters and moved to Uganda where she developed a laboratory for the Rakai Project, which has been responsible for much ground breaking research in HIV infection. Many close friends and colleagues could not believe that she planned to venture so far from home with three young children (including an infant) but Mary knew what she wanted. Her 7 years in Uganda may have been the happiest time of her life; she made wonderful friends, and completed her Master’s degree and perhaps most of all enjoyed afternoon tea in her lab each day. With mixed emotions she left Uganda four years ago so her daughters could have the experience of attending high school in the US. Upon their return, Mary settled her family in Northern Baltimore County and began working for the Division of Infectious Diseases; first on a project in the area of Hepatitis C and most recently as the Project Manager of a large NIH funded point of care grant for sexually transmitted diseases.
Mary was totally devoted to her children, to whom she referred to as “my girls.” She did a magnificent job raising them under trying circumstances. Her girls are all honor students and like their mother are strong young women with great stores of kindness and compassion. Caileigh,18, just graduated from Hereford High School and was due to start studies at Manhattan College this fall. She is a strong young woman and is doing a wonderful job taking care of her younger sisters. Shannon, 16, is a junior at Hereford and a rising star in pole vaulting. Aiden, 14, will be a freshman at Hereford; she is devoted to animals and the depth of her feelings closely match those of her mother.
These three wonderful children need your help. Hopkins is a large, extended family and has always taken care of its own in time of crisis. Whatever you can do or give is greatly appreciated. A scholarship fund has been established for Caileigh, Shannon and Aidan aka: “Mary’s Girls”
Contributions should be made payable to Mary’s Girls. Checks may be sent to:
The Division of Infectious Diseases
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
1830 East Monument St. Suite 437
Baltimore, MD 21205
Attn: Mary’s Girls
Remembrances of Mary for her girls
We know that the next few weeks, months and years are going to be difficult for Caileigh, Shannon and Aidan. To help them when times are tough, their Aunt Eileen has come up with an old fashioned (but great) idea.
We’re asking those of you who knew Mary to leave cyber space briefly and take pen in hand to write down a memory of Mary, put it in an envelope and mail it to Eileen. They can be something funny or silly, a recollection of good time that you had together or of a instance when Mary reached out to you during a rough time. If you have many memories, please write as many letters as you can nd picture the girls sitting together, opening up an envelope and getting a chuckle or learning something they never knew about their Mom.
Please send the letters to:
Remembrances of Mary for her girls
c/o Eileen Sullivan Orgen
101 Barkwood Drive
Stephens City, Virginia 22655
For information regarding funeral arrangements and to leave messages of condolence please go to: www.marypsullivan.blogspot.com.
We will continue to update this website during the next few weeks. Please contact Linda Apuzzo lapuzzo@jhsph.edu for information on how you can participate.
This website is dedicated to the memory of Mary Patricia Sullivan.
 Mary and her Mom |
 Mary, her girls and her niece Audrey |
