Joseph James Sullivan's Obituary
Joseph James Sullivan, 86, a resident of Heritage Harbour for the last 13 years, and previously of Beltsville, passed away on January 14, 2015.
Mr. Sullivan was born on June 30, 1928 in Ferndale, Michigan to the late Mildred Klein Sullivan and James Benedict Sullivan. He spend his younger years in nearby Mount Clemens, where he attended high school.
Mr. Sullivan joined the U.S. Army in 1945 and served in Korea for two years with the 6th Infantry Division. Following military service, he attended the University of Michigan, where he received a Bachelor and Master degrees in Far Eastern Studies. He was employed for nine years with the National Security Agency as an intelligence analyst. In 1961, he joined the U.S. Information Agency as a China Desk Officer in the Office of Research. He entered the Foreign Service in 1970 and, in that year, was posted in Hong Kong as head of the China Reporting Program. During the famed Chinese Cultural Revolution, he was transferred to the Voice of America as an Asian news analyst, with emphasis on Communist Chinese affairs. He retired from the U.S. radio facility in 1980 as chief of Southeast Asia broadcasts.
Mr. Sullivan is survived by his wife Jean Ruth Roy whom he married in January 1954; two children, Michael B. Sullivan and Ann D. Sullivan; and two grandchildren.
All services are private.
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