Seventeenth Generation

1542. Col. Gerald E. "Jerry" SULLIVAN (`) (~) was born on 3 September 1929 in Monroe County, WI.^313,649,1233 He graduated in 1947 in Tomah, Tomah Township, Monroe County, WI.¹⁰⁸⁰ from Tomah High School. He died on 12 July 2014 at the age of 84 in Tomah, Tomah Township, Monroe County, WI.¹²³³

Obituary Notes: "Colonel (retired) Gerald E. Sullivan, 84, of Tomah passed away Saturday, July 12, 2014, at the Tomah Memorial Hospital in Tomah. He was born Sept. 3, 1929, to William and Winnifred (Dickinson) Sullivan in La Crosse, and was raised on a 120-acre dairy farm in Reels Valley near Tomah.

Jerry proudly served his country in the U.S. Navy and Army. He was united in marriage to Cleo Lee Miller Sept. 20, 1952, at St. Mary Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Tomah.

He is survived by his wife, Cleo; his children, Diane Holschbach of Shawano, Wis., Dr. Thomas (Shirley Lindefjeld) Sullivan of Waccabuc, N.Y., Cathyrn (Michael) Huey of Lafayette, Colo., Barbara Sullivan of Golden, Colo., William (Jackie) Sullivan of Nokomis, Fla., and Linda Sullivan of Golden; seven grandchildren, Zachary, Hillary, Greta, Dylan, Emily, Hannah and Riley; and two great-grandchildren, George and Liberty; also cousins, Anne Protz and Nancy Wellenkotter.

Jerry enlisted in the U.S. Navy on May 5, 1947, and was called to active duty Jan. 20, 1952, as a Naval Airship Aviation Machinist Mate. He was honorably discharged from the Navy Nov. 23, 1953, then worked at Tomah VA as GS1 Nursing Assistant and decided to go to nursing school. J erry graduated from Methodist-Kahler School of Nursing in Rochester, Minn., in 1957 and returned to Tomah to work in the VA. He enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves March 5, 1962, and went active duty May, 15, 1964, in the Army Nurse Corps reporting initially to Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas, and retired July 1, 1982, as a Colonel at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center, Denver.

Jerry graduated with a Bachelor of Science in nursing from Drury University in Springfield, Mo., May 30, 1970. Jerry was assigned/stationed throughout his military career in Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, Colorado, Missouri, Texas, and overseas to the 543rd General Dispensary in Taegu, South Korea ,and the 121st Evac Hospital Seoul, South Korea, and 2nd General Hospital in Landstuhl, West Germany.

Jerry’s interests included volunteering for veterans’ organizations, preserving history, genealogy, collecting military memorabilia, bird feeding and spending time with his children and grandchildren. He was a lifetime member and past Commander of the Disabled American Veterans, a member of the VFW, American Legion, and the Knights of Columbus, Retired Army Nurse Corps, Retired Officers, and Retired Reserve Officers Associations, American Society of Military Insignia Collectors, Fort McCoy Retiree Council and serving as editor of their paper. He volunteered at St. Mary Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Tomah Area Historical Museum, Military Firing Squad for veterans’ funerals, placing American flags on veterans’ graves for holidays, and with Cleo planned their class reunions for the Tomah High School Class of 1947, with their 65th reunion August 2012.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. Friday, July 18, 2014, at St. Mary Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Tomah. Monsignor Richard Gilles will officiate. Burial with full military honors by the Tomah VFW Post #1382 will follow in the St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery. "

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Col. Gerald E. "Jerry" SULLIVAN (`) (~) and Cleo Lee MILLER were married on 20 September 1952 in Tomah, Tomah Township, Monroe County, WI.¹²³³ Cleo Lee MILLER was born (date unknown).

Col. Gerald E. "Jerry" SULLIVAN (`) (~) and Cleo Lee MILLER had the following children: