Catherine Mary Sullivan

Catherine Sullivan, star of stage and lover of screens, died on April 15, 2026 from ovarian cancer. Cathie was 63 years old. From early roles as Mrs. Claus and Elsie (Oliver Twist) to many roles at the Young Peoples School for the Performing Arts in Providence, Rhode Island, including a 6th grade Lady MacBeth, her theatrical career culminated in roles as Else in the original musical Good Fun at Weslevan University (class of 1984) and as a “Fine Fox” in The Little Prince at the Woods Hole Theater on Cape Cod.

Cathie retired from the theatre to begin a varied career as a health policy analyst in Washington, DC. She met her wonderful husband in Washington and moved to Jersey City to get a graduate degree from New York University. They moved back to Capitol Hill where Cathie worked in a variety of jobs in health care policy, at organizations including Georgetown University, the Brookings Institution, and SEIU. Cathie was briefly an adjunct professor at George Mason University. They moved to Arlington, Virginia and their son was born in 1999. They lived happily in Arlington for 28 years.

Cathie is predeceased by her mother, Alberta Constance Sullivan, and her father, Joseph Leo Sullivan. She is survived by her husband, Michael A. Shea, and son, Matthew Shea Sullivan (Michelle); her sister, Elizabeth (John) LaMontagne; her brother, James Sullivan; step grandson Luke; and many sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Cathie’s sole regret is that she did not do more for the resistance to fight this Fascist regime. In lieu of flowers, you know what to do.

A Celebration of LIfe event is being planned by her family during the coming summer.