Charles B. Sullivan

Peterborough- Charles B. Sullivan, 88, died on February 19, 2010, after a brief illness. For 35 years, he practiced law in Wilton, N.H. at Cheever & Sullivan, a firm he co-founded. He also was the judge of the Municipal District Court for many decades, the chairman of the New Hampshire State Republican Party, and he served on the boards of directors of the Wilton National Bank, Indian Head National Bank of Nashua and Fleet Bank, NH. He was born in New Haven, Connecticut on August 20, 1921, to Charles Edward Sullivan and Martha Bahnsen Sullivan. During World War II, he served as a civilian translator of intercepted Japanese communications in Washington, DC, working closely with Admiral Rickover after he was dismissed from the Army infantry due to poor eyesight. Mr. Sullivan moved to Wilton, NH in 1947 where he resided until 2008 when he moved to RiverMead in Peterborough. He spent his summers in Oak Bluffs on Martha�s Vineyard from the mid-1970's until 2006. He attended Wesleyan University and graduated from Yale University in 1943 and subsequently received a law degree from Yale University. While at Yale Law School, Sullivan attended a lecture where the speaker advised the audience to practice law in a small town for a year and then determine if they wanted to move on to a big-city law practice. The lecture prompted him to start his law practice in Wilton in 1947 with Judge Harold Cheever in a small office on the second floor of the building where The Color Shop is now located. He retired from his practice in 1982. Mr. Sullivan was a benefactor of the Wilton Public and Gregg Free Library. In addition, he helped the Pine Hill Waldorf School secure its first location by renovating and renting the schoolhouse he owned in Wilton Center. He established a scholarship at Wesleyan University in memory of his late son, Luther Gregg Sullivan, who died in 1987. Family members include his beloved wife, Jean Wilson Sullivan, to whom he was married for 65 years, and three sons, David B. Sullivan and his wife, Elizabeth Sullivan, of Jaffrey New Hampshire; C. Wilson Sullivan and his wife, Janet Hymowitz, of Amherst, New Hampshire and Peter C. Sullivan and his partner, Felice Fullam, of Wilton New Hampshire. He is also survived by five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. There are no visiting hours. Funeral services will be held at 2:00 pm on Thursday, February 25th at the Wilton Center Unitarian Church, 597 Isaac Frye Highway, Wilton, NH. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made the Open Cupboard Food Pantry, 47 Maple Street, Wilton, NH 03086.