I offer my heartfelt sympathy to each member of the Mary Ann Cottrell Family on her transition from this life to the next life.  She will be dearly missed.

Mary Ann is a first cousin of mine; her Uncle Ed Sullivan was my father who was a brother to Mary Clifford, Mary Ann's mother.  I have many fond memories of Mary Ann and her family, including Bob, her husband, and each of her five children.  

Mary Ann was very devoted to her uncle Ed and she was often the source of early stories about my father's life.  He married Loretto Ann Fink at the age of 39 and, I am the oldest of his six children.  Mary Ann was a decade my senior and so our childhoods were not similar, although we did celebrate family occasions, including birthdays, and major feast days during any given year.  I attended Mary Ann's wedding to Bob and we enjoyed visits to their home In Woodhurst and then at Sycamore.  I believe that my wife and I attended each of their kids' weddings, as we did the weddings of their first cousins, who were children of Sally and Charlie Centlivre and Nancy and Bruce Badiac.  Festive and memorable events, indicating the familial love that was treasured and celebrated.

After my mother died in 1975, Mary Ann and Bob hosted her uncle Ed and my father to her home for a home-cooked meal which he thoroughly enjoyed, along with the company

I was a regular visitor to both Mary Ann and Bob when they moved to assisted living and continued visiting Mary Ann every month or two after her husband, Bob, died.

It is important to note that during his life as an anesthesiologist, Bob provided his skills and expertise for family members.  My family benefited from the interests that Mary Ann and Bob had in family history and shared information with my daughter, Stephanie, as she did her family's history.

I will miss Mary Ann and our visits.  My wife and I used to share our picture albums with her to keep her abreast of our family events, as well as vacation trips which my wife and I took.  She loved our visits and was always so gracious.

My life has been blessed with the presence of Mary Ann and Bob and their children in my life.  I want to conclude with a general comment to each family, whom I stayed in touch with through your mother.  I regretted that as our families grew and expanded there were not the opportunities that I had, when I was younger, to stay in touch, but I had the touchstone with you through mom.  Treasured and cherished moments

I will keep you and your families in my thoughts and prayers as we celebrate the life of MARY ANN COTTRELL

Love and Peace

Steve Sullivan