Bob Sullivan, one of the most fierce and gentle souls to pass through the pages of the Review and the streets of Forest Park, has died at age 86. Already basically retired, Bob arrived at our door eager to sell subscriptions by phone, as thankless a task as ever created. Bob, though, enjoyed it and did well.
Wasn’t long, however, before he began to write for us. And what a gift that was. Most notably in the Review was his “From the Pages” column, which used the paper’s archives as a launching pad for all manner of whimsy and wisdom. As Ken Trainor notes in a loving remembrance today, Bob was also the only person the Review ever ran over with our St. Patrick’s Day Parade float. Still not sure how that happened but Bob happily popped back up.
A brave fighter of severe depression, a deep reader, a generous friend, Bob Sullivan was everything good about life in community and about community journalism.