Obituary of Dorothy Sullivan

WEST COLUMBIA—Dorothy Gaskin Sullivan, native of Wanchese, North Carolina, and long time resident of Lexington, South Carolina, passed away April 21, 2012. She was born in Wanchese on May 17, 1919 to Lighthouse Keeper Lloyd Vernon Gaskill and his wife Bertha Davis Gaskill. She attended Wanchese Elementary School and graduated from Manteo High School in 1935. She married Harold Bruce Lennon shortly after and in 1937 her daughter, Mary Bruce Lennon, was born. During World War II she served as Chief Clerk of the Ration Board of Currituck County, North Carolina. When the war ended she and her daughter moved back to Norfolk, Virginia where she worked in reservations for Pennsylvania Central Airlines later becoming Capital Airlines. In 1949 she married Albert Volley Sullivan. While they lived in Norfolk, Vernon Elliot was born. Shortly after the birth, the couple along with "Brucie" and "Buster" moved to Cayce, South Carolina. There the family grew by two more children, Kenneth Albert and Silvia Lee. Dorothy retired from the South Carolina Probation and Parole Board in 1984. The Sullivan's attended Mt. Tabor Lutheran Church and later joined Transfiguration Lutheran Church. "Dot" was an outstanding cook and an avid reader. She enjoyed playing bridge and watching USC football with friends and family. In addition to her parents, Vernon and Bertha Gaskill, her eldest brother, Vernon, Jr., and her first husband, Harold Bruce Lennon, she was preceded in death by her husband Albert, and her daughter, Mary Bruce Lennon Dowd. She is survived by sons, Vernon "Buster" of Orlando, Florida, Kenneth of Carson City, Nevada; daughter, Silvia of Cayce, SC; one granddaughter, Kerry Dowd Barrow and husband, John Barrow; great grandchildren, twins, Jonathan and Lennon. She will be sorely missed by her brother, John Gaskill of Gulfport, MS; sister, Erline Gaskill White of Norfolk, VA; and nieces, Joan Wyndham of Columbia, SC, Jean Dunn Vana of Kansas City, KS, Sharon Lee Gaskill of San Antonio, TX; nephew, Vernon White of Virginia Beach, VA; many great nieces and nephews and great greats will also miss her and will remember fondly her "little turkeys" at Thanksgiving. A memorial service will be held at a later date at Bethany United Methodist Church, in Wanchese, North Carolina, where she was christened as an infant and attended church with her parents. In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Outer Banks Lighthouse Society (OBLHS), P.O. Box 1005, Morehead City, NC 28557. Please indicate the donation is for the Bodie Island Lighthouse Fund. Family and friends may sign the on-line guest book at: (www.thompsonsfuneral.com)