Keohane Funeral Home

Roger W. Sullivan of Hingham died on April 9, 2023 from complications of cancer.  

He leaves his wife, Marguerite Barry Sullivan whom he married in 1953.  He also leaves his children Catherine Retzlaff and her husband Michael of Lone Tree, Colorado; Michael Sullivan and his wife Joy of New Providence, New Jersey; Siobhan Jackson and her husband Hal of Roswell, New Mexico; Dr. Peter Sullivan and his wife Monique of Portland, Oregon; Marie Sullivan of Dripping Springs, Texas; his grandchildren Matthew Sullivan, his wife Hope and their baby Sunday Joan Sullivan; Christopher Retzlaff; David Sullivan; and Camille Sullivan.

He was born on November 22, 1929 in West Roxbury, Massachusetts. He graduated from Roxbury Latin School in 1948 and received an AB degree cum laude with honors in Classics from Bowdoin College in 1952. He completed a Princeton Fellowship in Public Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University in 1971. He served in the Army Counterintelligence Corps (CIC) in Japan during the Korean War.

Mr. Sullivan entered the US Foreign Service in 1956 and served in a variety of diplomatic posts in Asia.  During his service he was awarded the State Department’s Superior Honor Award for “outstanding service” while Political Advisor to the Commander in Chief of Pacific Forces.  He was named Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia in 1978 and Senior Staff Member for China and Southeast Asia on the National Security Council in 1980. After his retirement from the Foreign Service in 1981, Mr. Sullivan began work at the US-China Business Council and was appointed President in 1985.

After moving to Hingham in 1992, Mr. Sullivan was active in the town, community and church. He was a lector, a Eucharistic minister and a member of the parish council at St. Paul’s church.  He served two terms on the Town Advisory Committee and many years as a member and Chairman of the Water Supply Committee. He was also local coordinator for the AARP Tax-Aide program, working with other volunteers to provide free tax help at senior centers in Hingham, Braintree, Weymouth and Quincy. A member of the Hingham Yacht Club, he and his wife enjoyed sailing to Maine in the summers in their 33 ft. sloop.

Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to greet the family during the visiting hours on Friday 8:30-9:30 AM in the Pyne Keohane Funeral Home, 21 Emerald St. (off Central St.), HINGHAM followed by the Funeral Mass in St. Paul’s Church, Hingham at 10 AM. Burial in MA National Cemetery, Bourne at 1:30 PM. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to St. Paul’s Church, the Roxbury Latin School, or the Hingham Food Pantry, 685 Main Street, Hingham, MA 02043.