Obituary of Gerald A. Sullivan

Middlesex, NJ Gerald A. Sullivan, 86, entered peacefully into eternal life on Sunday, August 3, 2014 with his family by his side at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick. Born in Boston, MA to his late parents Jeremiah P. and Margaret (Spillane) Sullivan, he moved to New Jersey in the early 1950's.Gerald was the first person in his family to ever attend college. He earned an undergraduate degree from Boston College in 1950, and subsequently completed his coursework for his Master's Degree. He moved to New Jersey in 1952, settling in Camden to join RCA's engineering training program. After completion he moved to Harrison to become part of the RCA Solid State division, this is where he met and married his late wife Stella Goleniak in 1955. After completion of his thesis, he was awarded his MS in Physics from Boston College in 1956. Gerald then lived in Somerset for a short time until establishing his home in Middlesex in 1961, where he and his wife raised seven sons.In 1970, he joined New York Telephone Company in White Plains, NY as a Central Office Engineer. He transferred to Bell Laboratories in Piscataway in 1978. Following the 1984 breakup of the Bell system, he went with the portion of Bell Labs that formed Bellcore. He worked there as an engineer for the Common Language group until his retirement in December of 1993. An active member of Our Lady of Mount Virgin Parish, he could be found volunteering at many of the church functions, as an assistant director of the catechism program and serving on the Evangelical Committee. Gerald was an avid sports fan, especially of the Boston Red Sox and New England Patriots. He also was a Rutgers football season ticket holder for the last 23 years. Gerald enjoyed reading, especially anything related to the Civil War and history in general. He also travelled to many historical sites across the country. Late in his life he was able to travel to Ireland to explore his Irish ancestry and visit the homes where his parents had been raised before immigrating to the United States.Besides his parents, Gerald is predeceased by his wife Stella Goleniak Sullivan who died in 2005 and by two siblings; Father Francis Sullivan and Peggy McCann.Gerald leaves behind his seven loving sons; Stephen (Colleen) of Temple, TX, Michael (Ann) of Elizabethtown, PA, Edward (Lori) of Manalapan, NJ, Thomas (Sherri) of Readington, NJ, David (Vicki) of Temple, TX, Kenneth (Clif) of Piscataway and Arthur of Middlesex. He will be deeply missed by his sixteen adored grandchildren and ten cherished great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his sisters Ellen Pauline Buckley of Wilmington, NC and Betty Paynter of North Chelmsford, MA.Visitation will be held in the Middlesex Funeral Home, 528 Bound Brook Road, Middlesex, NJ 08846 on Friday, August 8, 2014 from 2-4 and 7-9pm and on Saturday, August 9, 2014 from 8:15 am until 8:45 am.Funeral services will begin 8:45 am in the funeral home on Saturday, August 9, 2014 followed by a 9:30 am Mass of Christian Burial at Our Lady of Mount Virgin Parish in Middlesex. Gerald will be laid to rest beside his wife at Resurrection Burial Park in Piscataway.