[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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