Don't Be a Couch Potato, Says Arlington Retiree

By Linda Busetti
HERALD Staff Writer
(From the issue of 4/25/02)

When a four-star general with his sick mother-in-law and a mom worried about her son’s cut finger rushed into the emergency room at Arlington Hospital, they were met with kindness and understanding from Jack Sullivan.

Sullivan, a longtime member of St. Agnes Parish in Arlington, is retired. He doesn’t have hobbies, doesn’t play golf, but says he "thoroughly enjoys" volunteer work. In addition to volunteering at the hospital, Sullivan is administrator of the Arimatheans, a group of Catholic lay people who assist at Ft. Myer funerals.

"I feel sorry for those people who, when retirement comes, they figure that life stops … and think all they have to do is go to the grocery store," Sullivan said. "I enjoy everything I do."

Sullivan was born in New York City at 123rd St. and 3rd Ave. in Manhattan and graduated from All Saints School on 130th St. in 1945. Fifty years later he returned to All Saints with his wife Pat. The visit made him recall a simpler time when "people had clear-cut moral values," he said.

"We didn’t have two dimes to rub together, but we had a good time," Sullivan said. He walked 10 blocks to All Saints, home for lunch and back to school every day. "I wouldn’t trade that growing up experience," he said. "We had discipline."

They also had fun — playing stickball, kick the can, ring-a-lievo and other street games.

When Sullivan was 17, he joined the Air Force. After four years in the service, three of them in Tampa, Fla., he returned to New York. Sullivan wasn’t happy commuting from Brooklyn to a job at the Federal Reserve Bank in Manhattan, so when he saw a recruitment notice for Washington, D.C. police officers he applied, took the physical and was sworn in as a Metropolitan police officer on Nov. 1, 1952. Sullivan fit all his belongings in a footlocker that he stowed in his 1946 Dodge for the move to Washington.

In 1956, Sullivan married Pat at St. Matthew Cathedral in Washington and together they raised two sons. He retired from the police force in 1973 and worked for the federal government until retiring in 1988. That’s when Sullivan’s career as a volunteer began — "which I absolutely love," he said.

About 11 years ago, Sullivan was a Knights of Columbus volunteer waiting tables at a Christmas party. He overheard people talking about the volunteer program at Arlington Hospital. "And I was interested in that," he recalled. "I investigated and I ended up as a volunteer in the emergency room, which I absolutely, dearly love."

"I love to interact with people," Sullivan said. "When someone comes in [the emergency room], who really needs some help, not physical, I mean when they don’t know what’s going on, I enjoy trying to help. I know how it is when I go into a place and someone treats you like, ‘Go take a number.’ I try to be understanding and sympathetic."

Part of Sullivan’s hospital work is to serve as a "gofer," "getting medical records or taking someone a dietetic meal." But, what Sullivan enjoys most is acting as a "liaison for people." Someone walks in the emergency room and looks lost. Sullivan says he notices and asks, "May I help you? Would you like to see a doctor?"

"Or some poor soul has been waiting in the waiting room for hours … and you try to get them some information," he said. With a few words, Sullivan makes a sudden and frightening experience a little easier to handle.

Sullivan has volunteered as an Arimathean since 1989. As administrator, he oversees lay men and women who "perform the corporal works of mercy — praying for the dead and burying the dead — and assisting the Catholic chaplains at the funeral Masses of military personnel and their dependents," Sullivan said. Women volunteers act as lectors and the men as acolytes.

The Arimatheans assisted at funerals for six Pentagon victims of the Sept. 11 attack. Sullivan particularly remembers the funeral for Lt. General Timothy G. Maude, which was attended by the military archbishop and many dignitaries.

At funerals, the Arimatheans offer a Mass card and words of consolation to the bereaved family. Sullivan describes being an Arimathean as an "extremely rewarding job" and the chaplains he works with as "outstanding."

When Sullivan’s "great friend" Msgr. Thomas Scannell, who resides at St. Agnes and is also retired, still celebrated Mass on a regular basis, Sullivan would set the altar and help Msgr. Scannell put on his vestments. They still enjoy getting together to share stories. "He was from Brooklyn and his father was a New York City policeman," Sullivan said, "So, we have things in common."

Sullivan’s advice to other retirees is to check newspapers or any source of information for volunteer opportunities. If you see someone volunteering and it looks interesting, he says, ask how they like the work and how to become a volunteer. Go to your church rectory and ask the priest if he needs help or call Meals on Wheels. "There are so many opportunities out there," Sullivan said.

"Don’t become a couch potato," Sullivan said. "Get out there and start sharing with people. It’s amazing how you’ll get back more than you give."

For information on volunteering at Arlington Hospital call 703/558-6195. For information on joining the Arimatheans, call Jack Sullivan at 703/527-2735. 

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