Jean Vinson Sullivan

Jean Vinson Sullivan passed away on Dec. 24 at the age of 94. She was born November 16, 1919 to Robert and Stella Vinson on the Vinson Ranch near Big Arm. She grew up living the western legend—attending a one room school at Loon Lake, riding horseback or taking a horse drawn sled to school, drawing water from a well and learning to cook on a wood stove. She was the third from the youngest of 11 children and the last surviving of those siblings.

In the midst of the Great Depression, at the age of 15, she moved to Missoula and found work in order to attend high school. She graduated from Missoula Sentinel (now Hellgate) in 1938. She took employment with the State of Montana in Helena where she met C.T. Sullivan. They married in 1941, and moved to Portland, Ore. where their first child was born. The family returned to Great Falls in 1943, and Jean lived there for the rest of her life, spending more than fifty years in the same home. Jean and “Sully” had three more children. She was predeceased by two sons, Timothy (1959) and Terry (1989) and her husband(1967). She is survived by her daughters, Abigail Sullivan who splits her time between Great Falls and Annandale, New Jersey and Lisa (Tom) Cordingley, of Helena, two grandchildren, Katie and Christopher Cordingley and numerous nieces and nephews.

Jean was an active Democratic campaign volunteer in the 1950’s and 60’s; briefly she and her husband ran Triangle Advertising, consulting with various statewide candidates. She worked as Executive Secretary of the Arthritis and Rheumatism Foundation, and went to work for the Cascade County Sheriff’s Office in 1964. In 1974 she was sworn in as a deputy sheriff, among the first women to serve in that capacity in Montana. She retired from the Sheriff’s Office in 1984. During that time, she worked with women who were victims of domestic violence or rape, in an era when coordinated services for women in crisis were rare. On occasion, she would bring those women to her own home and stay up into the night, making coffee and providing comfort.

She was profoundly steady, compassionate and a fiercely loyal friend. Many years ago, an elderly friend of hers said, “I hope when you’re my age, you are lucky enough to have a friend like you.” She was lucky enough—Jennifer Jaap has been that friend. Her family is very grateful.

Her home was open to drop-ins; her gardens were lovely. She was a voracious reader, a stickler for flawless grammar and a wizard at crosswords and Scrabble. Jean was a wonderful mother and an extraordinary grandmother. She was particularly proud of ensuring that her daughters were well educated and there was not one moment of her two grandchildren’s lives that she didn’t find exceptional in every way.

At Jean’s request there will be no memorial service at this time. Memorials in her name are suggested to Peace Hospice House of Great Falls or a charity of the donor’s choice. Please visit www.aswfuneralhome.com to offer the family a condolence or to share a memory of Jean.