Longtime salesman at Jack McGee dealership fondly remembered
One of the city’s longest-tenured and most-respected salesmen is being fondly remembered for his wonderful personality and positive outlook.
Bernie Sullivan, who worked at Jack McGee Chevrolet Cadillac Ltd. for more than 53 years, died peacefully at his home on Saturday. He was 86.
“Bernie liked everybody. He was just great to work with,” said David McGee, president of the Clonsilla Ave. dealership started by his late father.
The man he had known since he was a young boy had a morning ritual of coming into his office, shaking his hand and saying “Let’s have a great day,” he said. “He did that every single day. Without fail.”
The mood has been sombre at the business this week as staff come to terms with the loss, said McGee, who pointed out how Mr. Sullivan’s enthusiasm never waned. “He was always up and willing to help. I never saw him down, ever.”
Jack McGee used to say it would take an hour to walk a block with Mr. Sullivan because he would always be running into people he knew, his wife Mary McGee once said.
He wasn’t family per se, but Mr. Sullivan was always a friend to the family and mentor to the McGee’s two sons, David and J.R., who now run the company, she said.
Mr. Sullivan started at the dealership in 1964 after getting his start at the business in 1957. He helped his dad build a garage in Hastings in 1946 and by 1952 had obtained his mechanic’s papers at Peterborough Collegiate Institute.
Outside of work, Mr. Sullivan was known as an avid outdoorsman who used to do a lot of camp-
ing and boating. More recently, he enjoyed motorhome trips to Presqu’ile and Algonquin Provincial Parks with his family, David McGee said.
During a barbecue lunch held in his honour in September 2014, the salesman attributed his then half century of success in sales to a simple philosophy of treating everyone fairly.
“It’s so simple. Most people just wanted to be treated fair,” he said. “That’s what it boils down to ... sometimes we try to complicate it.”
The then-82-year-old still enjoyed the job and said he would keep doing it as long as his health was good and he was an asset to the company. He would go on to maintain his office at the dealership right until the end.
“I do it one day at a time,” Mr. Sullivan told The Examiner before sharing one of his favourite sayings. “Life is like currency. Yesterday is a cancelled cheque. Tomorrow is a promissory note. Today is cash. When I wake up in the morning, I like to cash in on life that day.”
Mr. Sullivan is survived by his wife Shirley, brothers Paul and Joe and sister Anne Gallant. He was predeceased by brothers Jack and Jim.
The Sullivans had three children – Michael of Port Hope, Kim Hambley of Trenton and Alanna of Peterborough – as well as two grandchildren and three greatgrandchildren.
Visitation will take place at Ashburnham Funeral Home at 840 Armour Rd. on Wednesday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. A memorial service will be Thursday at 10 a.m. at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Chains at 411 Reid St.
Donations in Mr. Sullivan’s memory can be made to the Heart and Stroke Foundation.