The Reverend Charles Moffitt Sullivan, a retired Episcopal priest, formerly of Freeport, Smithtown and Hampton Bays, died at home surrounded by family in Simpsonville, South Carolina, on October 31. He was 82.
Rev. Sullivan was born to William and Mary Sullivan on March 31, 1932, in Brooklyn. He was a 1950 graduate of Brooklyn Prep, a highly selective Jesuit Preparatory School founded by the Society of Jesus. He studied at Paulist Prep Seminary and St. Charles College in Baltimore and Immaculate Conception Seminary in Huntington. He was ordained a priest of the Roman Catholic Church on June 1, 1957, and served for 14 years before marrying Bernadette O’Rourke at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Roman Catholic Church in Forest Hills in 1973. He was received as a priest of the Episcopal Church on September 14, 1978.
His lively faith, sense of humor, and compassionate spirit drew many parishioners as rector of St. Thomas of Canterbury in Smithtown, 1985 to 2002; vicar of St. Mark’s in North Bellmore, 1979 to 1983; assistant rector of St. Thomas Church in Malverne, 1983 to 1985; and assistant at Transfiguration in Freeport, 1978 to 1979, and Trinity Church on Wall Street in New York City, 1978 to 1984. Serving more than 20 years on Diocesan Council and the Trustees of the Diocese of Long Island, he was also retired dean of North Suffolk Deanery. In 1996, he was one of eight nominees for Bishop Suffragan of Long Island.
Rev. Sullivan’s public service extended to the Fire Department of New York as auxiliary firefighter and chaplain at Ladder 134 and Ladder 135, 1959 to 1969; Freeport Fire Department as firefighter of Everready Hose Company 1, chaplain and lifelong member; and Smithtown Fire Department as firefighter of Engine Company 5, chaplain and lifelong member. As a member of Smithtown Rotary Club, he received the prestigious Paul Harris Fellow Award for Community Service.
After retirement in 2002, Rev. Sullivan continued to serve as a supply priest at churches across Long Island including St. Anselm’s, Shoreham; St. Lawrence, Dix Hills; Christ Church, Babylon; St. Mark’s, Westhampton Beach; St. Cuthbert’s, Selden; St. Mark’s, Medford; St. John’s, Cold Spring Harbor; St. James Episcopal Church, Saint James; Grace Church, Massapequa; St. Luke’s, East Hampton; St. Thomas’s, Amagansett; St. Peter’s Chapel, Springs; St. Peter’s, Bay Shore; Transfiguration, Freeport; St. Mary’s, Shelter Island; St. Mary’s, Hampton Bays; and St. Andrew’s, Mastic Beach.
In addition to the priesthood, Rev. Sullivan was employed as a stockbroker from 1971 to 1985 with Paine Webber Inc. and Pumphrey Securities.
He is survived by his wife of 41 years, the Reverend Bernadette M. Sullivan, former rector of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Hampton Bays; his children, Kevin, Mark, Megan and Beth; grandchildren, Katherine, Jacqueline, Jack Ryan and Gina. He is also survived by the spouses of his children, Mina, Beth Andrea and Christian; and a cousin, Mary Ellen Stevenson; and many nieces and nephews.
Visiting will be at Hawkins & Davis Funeral Home in Smithtown on Thursday, November 6, from 7 to 9 p.m. and Friday, November 7, from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. A funeral service will be held at St. Thomas of Canterbury Episcopal Church in Smithtown on Saturday, November 8, at 10:30 a.m. Burial will follow at St. Ann’s Cemetery in Sayville.
Memorial donations may be made to the Smithtown Fire Department College Fund, Smithtown Fire Department, 100 Elm Avenue, Smithtown, NY 11787.
on Nov 4, 2014