Hinsdale — Family and friends fondly remembered James Sullivan at a sign dedication ceremony on Friday, September 15. Sullivan, who was born in Bronxville, N.Y., was the owner of Sullivan Sanitation Services and a longtime resident of Hinsdale. He served as a volunteer for the town on several town boards and communities.
Sullivan was serving a term as a Select Board member when he died on December 31, 2021, at 58 years old, from COVID-19.
Sullivan left behind his wife, Kristine, and his children, Justin, Ryan, and Britany, who are all now grown adults.
“It is believed he contracted COVID when he stepped up to help plow the roads during a large snow storm and all but one Department of Public Works employee were out with COVID,” friend and Hinsdale resident Angela Stetson said. “He risked his own health, and ultimately his life, for his town. He was happy to be a Selectman and so eager to do a good job, but it was sad to see that everything was cut short by COVID.”
Nearly a year and a half after his death, the town dedicated a memorial sign to him on the intersection of Route 8 and Middlefield Road.
Stetson said that Sullivan’s commitment to getting the town funding for the Middlefield Road reconstruction project inspired the location for the sign. “They just finished the project, which is why we waited a year to put this sign up,” Stetson said. “He was like a big brother to me who would do anything for anybody. He really stepped up to help out the town when anyone needed help.”
“James Sullivan did a lot for Hinsdale,” Town Administrator Robert Graves said. “This memorial sign is for someone who cared deeply about the people and the welfare of the people in this town. He had become a Select Board member six months before he died. He is still very much missed by all of us.”
