Paul D. Sullivan

Waltham – Mr. Paul D. Sullivan, of Waltham, died Monday, July 16, 2012, in the Miriam Boyd Parlin Residence of the Wayside Hospice in Wayland. He was 93.

Paul was born in Syracuse, New York, on March 3, 1919, a son of the late George and Catherine (Klotz) Sullivan. He was raised in Syracuse where he graduated from Eastwood High School. In April, 1941 he joined the United States Army and completed his training at Camp Edwards, Massachusetts.

After World War II broke out later that year Paul was assigned to gunner's duty aboard transports in the Pacific. Later in the war he was promoted to staff sergeant and was transferred to an anti-aircraft battery and was sent to England in 1944.

During the winter of 1944/45 he shipped off to continental Europe just in time to participate in some of the heaviest fighting of the war during the 'Battle of the Bulge' in the Ardennes Forest of Belguim, France and Germany. A few months later, in March, 1945 he was awarded the Bronze Star for gallantry during a battle in the town of Remagen, Germany.

Paul's unit was tasked with being part of a larger force to capture the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen. Their success and its significance to the war effort will remain forever in the history books because it overcame the last important geographic obstacle, crossing the Rhine River, for the push to Berlin that secured the Allied victory two months later.

Early in the morning on March 7, 1945 Paul and his fellow soldiers found themselves in a heart-pounding, noisy and violent race onto the 'Bridge at Remagen', literally following German tanks and soldiers escaping to the safe haven of the west bank. The bridge was the last left standing as Hitler had ordered the destruction of all crossings into Germany just days earlier.

After the war Paul was trained as a mechanical engineer and went to work for the next twenty years for the Enterprise Engine & Foundry Company. During World War II Enterprise built hundreds of diesel engines for the United States Navy which were used for tugs, harbor crafts, small vessels and for auxiliary electric generators on larger ships. In addition Enterprise engines were utilized to power electric generators in cities and towns across America. Paul traveled across the country doing repair work for the company.

After Paul left Enterprise he went to work for the next twenty years for the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, mainly as the chief mechanical engineer at the Deer Island Treatment Plant. He retired in 1986.

In 1950 he settled his family in Waltham where he has lived since. The Sullivan's were original members of Saint Jude Parish where Paul served the Church as a thirty-five year member of the parish Saint Vincent de Paul Society. He was a former president and treasurer of the organization and held the same leadership positions with Saint Jude Holy Name Society. Paul was also an usher at Sunday masses for the past sixty years.

Paul's wife of fifty-seven years, Bernadine V. (Nellis) Sullivan, died March 30, 2001.

He leaves his children, Paul R. Sullivan of San Francisco California, Kathleen Meskunas of Wakefield and Maureen Ide and her husband, Michael D., of Dracut; his grandchildren, Rebecca K. Dowd and her husband, Justin, Michael P. Ide and Christopher M. Ide; his great-grandchild, Joshua R. Ide-Gosselin; his sister, Elizabeth Smith of Syracuse New York and several nieces and nephews.

Paul was also the father-in-law of the late John P. Meskunas and a brother of the late George and Robert Sullivan.

Family and friends will honor and remember Paul's life by gathering for calling hours in The Joyce Funeral Home, 245 Main Street (Rte. 20), Waltham on Thursday, July 19th, from 4 to 8 p.m. and again at 9:30 a.m. on Friday morning before leaving in procession to Saint Jude Church, 147 Main Street, Waltham where his Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Burial will follow in Grove Hill Cemetery, Waltham.

Memorial donations may be made to the American Heart Association, 20 Speen Street, Framingham, MA 01701; the Perkins School for the Blind, 175 N. Beacon Street, Watertown, MA 02472 or to the Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 758517, Topeka, KS 66675.