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Industry icon Thomas E. Sullivan, chairman of Arnprior, Ontario construction company M. Sullivan & Son Limited, passed away on Jan. 14 at the age of 80.
“You could call him classy, you could call him knowledgeable, you could call him a virtual giant. Everybody knew the name Tom Sullivan,” said Joe Keyes, general manager of the Construction Labour Relations Association of Ontario (CLRAO).
In 2008, Sullivan received the Jock Tindale Memorial Award from the Ontario General Contractors Association, which recognizes his integrity and long commitment to high standards in the industry.
M. Sullivan & Son Limited was founded by his grandfather Maurice Sullivan in 1914 and is Canada’s oldest family-owned construction company, according to the company website. The company currently has around 140 full-time employees.
Sullivan had been fighting ill health for a long time, and finally succumbed to his ailments with his family at his side in Arnprior, Ont., said Robert MacLaren, President and Chief Executive Officer of M. Sullivan & Son Limited, in a letter on the company’s website.
Sullivan was married to Coreen Lois (Bell) Sullivan for 54 years and was the father of Sharon (Tim) Norris, Paddy (Michelle) Sullivan, Maureen (Kevin) Bentz, Rick (Bonnie) Sullivan and Lori (Wayne) van Wyk.
At the age of 16, Sullivan began loading and transporting bricks for projects overseen by his father Harry. Afterward, he worked for his uncles Dom and Mort, each of whom in turn served as president after their father and company founder Maurice Sullivan passed away in 1938.
As chairman, Sullivan oversaw the most prosperous years in company history, said MacLaren. With his leadership, the company moved into new markets, new disciplines and new opportunities.
“He shaped the company by virtue of his integrity, his straightforwardness, his ambition and his belief that a quality product was the most important thing we can do for our customers,” said MacLaren.
Besides being actively involved in the construction industry throughout his career, Sullivan also served as deputy mayor and mayor of Arnprior, Ont., as reeve for the County of Renfrew, Director of the Eastern Ontario Development Corporation and governor of The Ottawa Hospital Board.
“He really cut a swath through the Ottawa Valley. He had a chance to do many things that a lot of never get to do and he took full advantage of them all,” said MacLaren.
He helped M. Sullivan & Son Limited become Canada’s largest family-owned construction company. It was one of the old big general family construction companies that helped built so much of Ontario, said Keyes.
“They’re a family that their handshake is all that you ever really need,” he said.
“There was a lot of pride in what they did, how they did it, in their firm and backing up everything they did.”
MacLaren called Sullivan a great ambassador and collaborator who built lasting relationships contractors, suppliers, architects, associations, clients and competitors alike.
“We’re going to miss him a lot,” concluded MacLaren.
“He was a confidant, he was a mentor to a lot of people at Sullivan and we were lucky to have him as long as we did.”
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