Dora Elizabeth Sawyer Sullivan

Published 2:10 pm Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Mrs. Dora Elizabeth Sawyer Sullivan, age 82, a resident of Washington, NC died Monday, March 27, 2023, at her home.

Funeral services will be held 11:00 AM Thursday, March 30, 2023, in the Chapel of Paul Funeral Home & Crematory in Washington, conducted by Linwood Lewis and Billy Worsley.  Burial will follow at the Sawyer plot at Oakdale Cemetery.

The following will serve as pallbearers:  Larry Coomer, Jonathan Coomer, Jay Wilkins, Connor Wilkins, Greg Singleton, and Tim Waters.  Honorary pallbearers will be Britt Alligood, Norman Hiatt, Greg Taylor, and Courtney Harris.

The family will receive friends at the home of her daughter at 206 Thomas Place in Smallwood and the Sullivan home at 300 Lawson Road, Smallwood.

Mrs. Sullivan was born in Beaufort County on May 12, 1940, to the late Sherald Winslow Sawyer and Freddie Olivia Guthrie Sawyer.  She was a 1958 graduate of Washington High School.  On July 30, 1960, she married Ray Phillip Sullivan, who survives.  She graduated from East Carolina University with a BS in 1962 and a MAEd in 1965. She worked as a high school business teacher in Oak City, NC, and taught classes at Beaufort Technical Institute, now Beaufort County Community College. She worked at Sawyer Auto Parts, a business her father started in 1959, until her illness caused her to retire.  In her spare time, she enjoyed reading, cooking, needlework, and spending time with her grandchildren. Mrs. Sullivan was a member of First Christian Church and part of the Trinity Class.

Surviving with her husband, Ray of the home, is a daughter, Lisa Sullivan Wilkins and her husband, Jay; son Michael Ray Sullivan and his wife Brenda of Greenville, and her children, Grace and Carter Froman; her sister, Frances Sawyer Coomer and her husband, Larry of Charleston, SC; and her brother, Sherald Winslow Sawyer, Jr. and wife, Nancy of New Bern, NC; her grandchildren, Connor McKinley Wilkins, Elisabeth Cate Wilkins, Brooke Elisabeth Sullivan, Breanna Lynn Sullivan, and Blakelyn Shae Sullivan.

Mrs. Sullivan was predeceased by her parents.

The family would like to thank Gentiva Hospice and Mrs. Sullivan’s dedicated caregiver, Robyn Sculthorpe.

Flowers are welcome or memorial contributions can be made to the Masonic Home for Children, 600 College Street, Oxford, NC 27565 or to the Hannah Cuthrell Education Scholarship (Dr. Cuthrell, Jr. Endowment Scholarship) at East Carolina University, Office of University Scholarships, G210 Old Cafeteria Complex, Greenville, NC 27858.  https://give.ecu.edu/s/722/dg21/interior.aspx?sid=722&gid=1&pgid=2573&fbclid=lwAR2TCyUCIWx5NMbmznCPLsRefkFsjiB7UPk4n2pbkvvFFi3VaiRg6iFOg0k

Online condolences may be offered to the family by visiting www.paulfuneralhome.com.

Paul Funeral Home & Crematory in Washington is honored to serve the Sullivan family.