[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 167 (Monday, November 9, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11288-S11289]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                REMEMBERING MAYOR GEORGE MURRAY SULLIVAN

 Mr. BEGICH. Madam President, I wish to commemorate the life of 
a very special resident of my home State of Alaska, former Anchorage 
Mayor George Murray Sullivan.
  Mayor George Murray Sullivan passed away September 23, 2009, after an 
extended battle with lung cancer.
  Mayor George Sullivan was the embodiment of a true Alaskan. He was 
born and raised in Valdez, honorably served in our Nation's Army, and 
assisted with the completion of the only road leading out of our State, 
the Alaska Highway. As a devoted public servant, Mr. Sullivan served in 
the Alaska Legislature and as mayor of Anchorage. Today, Alaskans are 
grateful to this remarkable man for his guidance and pioneering spirit.
  On behalf of his family and his many friends I ask we honor George 
Sullivan's memory. I ask his obituary, published September 27, 2009, in 
the Anchorage Daily News, be printed into the Record.
  The information follows:

            [From the Anchorage Daily News, Sept. 27, 2009]

       Anchorage Mayor George Murray Sullivan, 87, died Sept. 23, 
     2009, surrounded by his family after a long battle with lung 
     cancer. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Saturday 
     at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church. Burial will be at 
     the Anchorage Memorial Cemetery. George was born March 31, 
     1922, to Harvey and Viola Sullivan in Portland, Ore.
       He was raised in Valdez with sisters Lillian and Marion, 
     and graduated salutatorian from Valdez High School in 1939. 
     His father Harvey was the U.S. district marshal and mother 
     Viola was the first woman mayor in Alaska. George had a 
     wonderful life as a kid in Valdez, playing many sports, 
     engaging in school activities and helping at the family 
     store. In 1937, at the age of 15, George was hired at the 
     Kennecott Mine, although the hiring age at the time was 16. 
     He was strong and eager, so he was put to work on the tram. 
     He navigated 750-pound ore buckets off the tram and into the 
     grizzly crusher for 10 hours a day, seven days a week. He 
     once estimated that he put in about 17 miles a day on the 
     job. In 1938, George drove trucks for the Alaska Road 
     Commission and hauled equipment and supplies to the workers 
     active in the Richardson Highway construction project.
       He worked with the military troops to get the Alaska 
     Highway completed and transported military equipment to the 
     Tanacross airport for Bob Reeve to fly to the outlying bases. 
     In July 1944, George was drafted into the U.S. Army for two 
     years and was stationed at Adak in the Aleutian Islands. He 
     married the love of his life, Margaret Eagan Sullivan, on 
     Dec. 30, 1947, and moved to Nenana. George was the U.S. 
     deputy marshal and Margaret was the U.S. commissioner. Aptly, 
     George would catch the criminals and Margaret would try them. 
     In 1952, George worked for Al Ghezzi's Alaska Freight Lines, 
     trucking supplies to the DEW Line on the first ice road to 
     the North Slope. He worked for Garrison Fast Freight.
       In 1955, he was elected to the Fairbanks City Council. 
     George took a job in management with Consolidated Freightways 
     and in 1959 moved the family to Anchorage, where he lived for 
     the next 50 years. In 1964, he was appointed by Gov. Bill 
     Egan to fill a vacant seat in the Alaska State Legislature. 
     He was in Juneau when the 1964 earthquake occurred; Margaret 
     was at home in Anchorage with seven children. George spent 
     many agonizing hours trying to get on a plane home to his 
     family. George finished his term in the Legislature and, in 
     1965, was elected to the Anchorage City Council. In 1967, he 
     ran a successful race to become Anchorage mayor, a position 
     he would hold for 15 years. Anchorage grew fast during those 
     years, spurred in large part by the oil boom. In 1975, voters 
     approved the unification of Anchorage's city and borough 
     governments and elected George its mayor. The creation of the 
     Municipality of Anchorage was an incredible undertaking. As 
     mayor, George successfully merged the duplicative 
     departments, boards, utilities. etc., into one government. 
     After unification, the state was awash with money from the 
     oil pipeline revenues. George and his administration had a 
     vision of what Anchorage could become and what was needed to 
     enhance the city's quality of life for its residents. He 
     worked hard to develop what was known as Project '80s.
       George lobbied successfully in Juneau and received hundreds 
     of millions of dollars for construction of the Egan Civic and 
     Convention Center, Loussac Library, the Alaska Center for the 
     Performing Arts and the Sullivan Sports Arena. This moved 
     Anchorage into being a modern and vibrant community, which 
     enhanced economic and community growth in the Southcentral 
     area. George finished as mayor of Anchorage in 1982. He then 
     worked for Western Airlines as senior vice president. In 
     1986, he was a founding member of the Sullivan Group, a 
     consulting firm. He also worked as the legislative director 
     for Gov. Steve Cowper. He received an honorary doctorate from 
     the University of Alaska in public administration. George was 
     never one to stay still for too long and remained active in 
     community and state boards up until his illness in 2008.
       Over the years he was active on the Enstar board, AWWU, 
     state PERS board, Anchorage Senior Center Endowment, TOTE 
     Advisory Board, Military Advisory Board, Anchorage Wellness 
     Court Alumni Group, Alaska Heart Association, Boys and Girls 
     Clubs and many more. He was always willing to lend a helping 
     hand to make Anchorage a little better for those less 
     fortunate or in need. He had a strong faith in the Roman 
     Catholic Church and often assisted at Mass and in the 
     church's organizations, the Knights of Columbus and Knights 
     and Ladies of the Holy Sepulcher. He was a member of the Elks 
     Club, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Pioneers of 
     Alaska. George had an incredible love for the community and 
     worked on many projects to enhance the quality of life for 
     all who called Anchorage home.
       He was a true public servant and visionary who strived to 
     make Anchorage a better community for future generations 
     while he was mayor and during his retirement. George's family 
     said: ``Dad was blessed with a kind and generous heart. He 
     and Mom gave so much to their family and community. Dad had a 
     wonderful way with people. He was a great Alaskan with an 
     Irish charm and humor that would put people at ease when they 
     met him. He and Mom traveled extensively and held lifelong 
     friendships that spanned the globe. He loved people and never 
     forgot a name or face.''
       George is survived by his sons, Timothy, Daniel (Lynnette), 
     Kevin, George Jr., Michael and Casey (Paige); and daughters, 
     Colleen (Ted Leonard) and Shannon (Christopher Adams). He is 
     also survived by grandchildren, Tim (Terrill), Conor (Carey), 
     Catherine and Moira Sullivan and their mother, Susan; 
     grandchildren, Kelly, Patrick (Julie) and Erin Sullivan and 
     their mother, Jean; grandchildren, Jennifer Sullivan; 
     Matthew, Adam, Molly and Bridget Glenn; Jared Leonard; Declan 
     and Shane Adams, and Tierney and Parker Sullivan; and six 
     great-grandchildren with one on the way. His is also survived 
     by sisters-in-law, Pat Franklin and Marge Eagan of Fairbanks; 
     and many nieces and nephews. George was preceded in death by 
     his parents, Harvey and Viola Sullivan; sisters, Marion and 
     Lillian; son, Harvey; and Margaret, his wife of 59 
     years.

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