Maureen Sullivan

11/07/1937 - 04/10/2024

Maureen Sullivan passed away peacefully in her

San Francisco home in the pre-dawn hours of April

10, 2024, after a valiant 19 month battle with pancreatic cancer. Surrounded by family for the last days of her life, she pulled an Irish goodbye, and slipped out quietly while everyone slept. In her final weeks, she lived as she always had with grace, courage and an exceptional ability to make the most of every moment.

Born and reared in Richmond, Calif., to Virgil O’Brien and Millicent Kreutzen, Maureen was the oldest of four children and was a leader – if not a bit headstrong - from the start. She always excelled academically, but when it came to high school, she refused to attend the Catholic school of her parents’ choice. Instead, she attended Richmond Union High where she thrived, finding a natural calling to the humanities, particularly French studies. It planted a Francophile seed in her that would grow for the rest of her life. Awarded a full scholarship to Stanford, Maureen graduated high school with honors and headed to Palo Alto for the next chapter of her life.

School wasn’t the only thing on Maureen’s mind at that time. In the summer of her 16th year, she met Jack Levitan on a blind date at Lake Tahoe. Though Jack was a Cal Bear, the courtship thrived during Maureen’s time at Stanford. Majoring in philosophy, voted a Campus Queen and always a dazzling presence on the football field as one of the famous Stanford Dollies, Maureen’s college years were something she drew upon for the rest of her life, whether it was the extraordinary education she received or the incredible friends she made. It was a point of pride for Maureen when her daughter, Meagan would follow in her footsteps and attend Stanford, as well.

One week after graduation, Maureen and Jack married and settled into San

Francisco’s North Beach, where Maureen put Jack through law school. Those years weren’t easy, but they were always interesting and exciting, not unlike the San Francisco of the1960s that surrounded them. Feeling the Bohemian ethos of the times and seeking adventure after Jack completed law school, the couple and their threeyear-old daughter, Kristin packed their bags and traveled to Europe, where they supported themselves by playing guitar and passing the hat in French bars and cafés. Settling for a while in Paris, they took courses at the Sorbonne, perfected their French and savored an expat’s way of life. Maureen would tell the story of attending a memorial mass at Notre Dame when John F. Kennedy was assassinated and recall Charles de Gaulle entering the church in respectful mourning. Soon they were notified that Jack had passed the California Bar exam and it was time to come home.

Not long thereafter, Meagan was born, and it was time to move west to Jordan Park. Maureen took a job with the Social Security Administration in the training division. While professional opportunities for women in the late 1960s and early 1970s were few, Maureen thrived in a job she enjoyed, earning praise and making dear friends along the way. These were happy times for Maureen, with family being the center of her universe. She was involved in her children’s schools, an active parishioner of St. Edward’s church, took up tennis and jogging, and cherished weekends out of the fog in a Kentfield cottage that she and Jack bought and enjoyed fixing up on the weekends. Travels took the family to Tahoe (Stanford Sierra Camp in the summer became a mainstay), skiing in the winter at Alpine Meadows, trips along the California coast and voyages overseas.

But Maureen wanted more time to enjoy the waning childhood years of her daughters and to be able to pursue her growing passion for travel. She left the Federal Government and worked in the travel industry. By the time both Kristin and Meagan were out of college, it was time to enjoy being an empty nester with Jack. Maureen applied to USF to get her degree in marriage counseling but in a tragic twist of fate, Jack was killed in a boating accident in Mexico in 1988. Maureen pivoted to earn a degree in clinical psychology and grief counseling, knowing firsthand the complex emotions that come with loss.

Little by little, Maureen came to embrace life again. She started leading cycling trips in Europe and felt purpose when she helped people through her counseling. Much to her surprise, she found love again when she was introduced to Craig Sullivan, whom she married in 1992. They had a shared passion for travel, the arts, cycling, their faith, and Ireland. They both took great pride and joy in combining their families: Meagan and Kristin, along with Craig’s three children, Annie, Katie, and Mark. They also delighted in their 10 beloved grandchildren, who affectionately called her Momo. Theirs was a happy 25-year marriage until Craig’s death in 2017.

Throughout her days, Maureen believed in living a life of purpose and worked to make an impact in varied ways. Along with Craig, she endowed a chair in Irish Studies at Boston College and an undergraduate scholarship at Stanford University. She served on numerous boards including Catholic Charities of San Francisco, The Ireland

Funds, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the Oakland Museum, Magic Theater, Convent of the Sacred Heart and the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology. She loved the work she did on these boards and believed deeply in giving back.

Maureen was tireless in the pursuit of everything she did and will be forever remembered for her intellectual curiosity, integrity, generosity, style, and beauty. She was the poster child for having “joie de vivre,” embodying a willingness to go for just “one more”: one more gallery visit, one more game of tennis, one more trip to Paris, one more glass of champagne, and one more turn on the dance floor.

We want to thank Dr. Charlie Morris, Dr. George Fisher, Dr. Ari Baron and Dr. Bertrand Tuan for all their counsel and support over the course of the last 19 months. Maureen wanted to live as fully as possible after her diagnosis and thanks to these medical professionals, she did.

She is survived by her devoted children and stepchildren: Kristin (Richard), Meagan (Dale), Annie (Oliver), Katie (Joe), Mark (Alison); her 10 grandchildren; and her three siblings, Denise, Nancy, and Terry.

A Rosary will be held at St. Dominic’s Church, 2390 Bush, April 23, at 7:00 p.m., and a funeral Mass on April 24, at Noon at St. Dominic’s. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to two of Maureen’s favorite local organizations: Mission Dolores Academy and ICA: Christo Rey Academy.