St. Joseph Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com
8
Friday, June 13, 2014
At 90, Sullivan keeps fit as a fiddle by Dennis Dalman news@thenewsleaders.com
At a spry 90 years old, Dewey “Sully” Sullivan won’t use the elevator at his assisted-living home, the Legends of Heritage Place, in Sartell. He prefers to walk up and down the stairs. And he also loves to go to The Legends’ exercise classes. That might explain why Sullivan, who is nearly as old as the City of Sartell, is so healthy and so alert for his age. Recently, his family and friends hosted a surprise 90th birthday party for him at the House of Pizza in Sartell. “Dad is the nicest man in the world,” said his daughter, Colleen Schwegel of St. Joseph. “Just ask anybody. He’s so calm. Always on an even keel. He seldom gets mad or angry. When mom was ill, he took such good care of her and never once complained about it.” Born in Montevideo, Sullivan moved to the St. Cloud-Sartell area as a young man to begin working at Sears and Roebuck, first in downtown St. Cloud, later at the Crossroads mall. Sullivan kept that job for 30 years. For many years, he lived in a house on Riverside Drive in Sartell, then on 1st Avenue just off of Riverside Drive and later in the Oak Hill Apartments. Most Sartell old-timers know
contributed photo
Sully Johnson, the great-grandson of Dewey “Sully” Sullivan of Sartell, holds up his great-grandpa’s medals earned when he was a bull-turret gunner in World War II. Sully is the son of Cassie Schwegel and Dustin Johnson. Sullivan well. He was at one time the Sartell village clerk when people would go to his house to pay their water bills. He also owned and operated Sully’s True Value Hardware in the Riverside Shopping Plaza. His wife, Irene (Shank), was raised with 12 other siblings in a house within a block from the old Sartell School, now the school district’s Services Building. Irene passed away in December 2011. Sullivan served in the U.S. Air Force as an airplane ball-
turret gunner, one of the most dangerous jobs in the military. Sullivan, who was honored with many medals, was happy to go on a Freedom Flight in 2012 to Washington, D.C. to see the war monuments and other sites with fellow veterans. It was, he said, “an incredible and amazing trip.” Sullivan likes to go to casinos now and then, and he loves to watch sports on TV – any sports except golf. The Sullivans have three children: Mike, Pat and Col-
contributed photo
At his 90th birthday party at House of Pizza in Sartell, Dewey “Sully” Sullivan and his sons and daughter gather at the mementos table, which displayed old photographs, World War II medals and of course a birthday cake. From left to right are Mike Sullivan, Dewey Sullivan, Pat Sullivan and Colleen (Sullivan) Schwegel. leen. Mike and Cecelia Sullivan live in Walnut Creek, Calif.; Pat and Kathy Sullivan live in Sartell and have four children – Shane, Blake, Mitchell, Caitlin; Colleen and Rob Schwegel live in St. Joseph. They
have a daughter Cassie, whose boy, born on Christmas Day 2011, was named Sully after his great-grandfather. Colleen and Rob’s son Chad and his wife Tishel, have one daughter, Tanya.
www.j lwc h iro.com Buster is a 10-year-old neutered miniature schnauzer mix. He’s been around children, other dogs as well as cats and was friendly with all of them. He’s house-trained and goes to the door and barks when he needs to go outside. Buster loves to play, especially with his rope toy or any toy that squeaks. When he was all tuckered out from playing you could find him curled up with his humans on the couch or in bed. Buster’s people described him as a happy-go-lucky little dog. Put some ‘happy’ in your life by giving Buster a new home. “Helping one animal won’t change the world … but it will change the world for that one animal!” Dogs - 7 Cats - 39 Kittens - 25 Hermit Crabs - 2 Ferrets - 3 Rabbit - 1 Hamsters - 2 Guinea Pigs - 2 Lovebird - 1 Sun Conure - 1
Tri-County Humane Society 735 8th St. NE • PO Box 701 St. Cloud, MN 56302
252-0896
www.tricountyhumanesociety.org
Hours: Monday-Thursday Noon-6 p.m., Friday Noon-8 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m.-5 p.m. & Sunday Noon-5 p.m.
St. Joseph Family Chiropractic
Get back into the swing of life
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Dr. Jerry Wetterling 363-4573 103 n. College Ave St. Joseph