Sisters folks celebrate life of a friend

Sully as his friends knew him. photo provided People from every walk of life in Sisters remembered Donald "Sully" Sullivan last week at a gathering that packed the bar at Bronco Billy's Ranch Grill & Saloon.

Sully, who died on Sunday, October 10, was remembered as he asked to be remembered: as a friend to all who knew him.

Betty Fadeley was particularly close to Sully. In a conversation with The Nugget, she recalled that when Sully would call her house, her husband Chuck would say, "It's your brother on the phone."

Fadeley offered some snapshot memories of her friend: his sense of humor; his involvement with the Sisters Rodeo, the Jazz Festival and his support of SOAR and Sisters schools; his love for children and cats.

"He never knew a stranger," she said.

Another friend, Betsy Caldwell, attributed his openness and warmth to his sense that the Sisters community was his family.

"Everyone Sully met, he treated them like family," she said.

Jeff McCaulou, who was Sully's next-door-neighbor for four years, vouched for that. Sully acted like an older brother figure for McCaulou, helping him put together a resume and offering guidance as McCaulou took his first post-college steps out into the world of work.

"Sully really bridged a few generations for me," McCaulou said. "Sully would let me in on all that. I could ask him anything and he'd tell me."

Sully was a linchpin of the Sisters Jazz Festival, serving as facilities manager -- and more.

"During the festival, Sully was the go-to guy," said festival chairman Tom Worcester.

For anything that needed fixing, the call was "find Sully."

"He was very thorough in what he did and he really knew the operation as well as anyone could," Worcester said.

Bill Reed recalled Sully's love for Cowboy Golf -- played in a pasture with PVC pipe for flag sticks and bandannas for flags. Boots and hats were required attire.

"Sully would come out days before and set up the course," said Reed, who hosted the event on the Friday of the Sisters Rodeo. "Sully loved running it and organizing it. I guess we need to have one more tournament."

All his friends agreed that Sully loved Sisters and the family he created here and they acknowledged that the whole community will miss him.

"It just seems that Rodeo won't be the same and the Jazz Festival won't be the same and Friday evenings at the Hotel won't be the same," Reed said.

All agreed that Sully's legacy was his impact on people.

Jeff McCaulou said, "In all my life, I've never met anyone who liked people as much as Sully did."