Pappy was a friend to all and a mentor to many souls. He was a veritable jack-of-all-trades who knew a good deal about nearly everything that ever came up. In his later years he was a walking encyclopedia set of knowledge. When age limited his hands-on abilities, he could still give someone a textbook explanation of "how to" complete a project completely. Pappy was an educated man, graduating from Sewanee University in Tennessee with a degree in business. I learned after his death that he began a career with DuPont after college becoming acquainted with the family through a friendship with a DuPont son, and worked his way up the ranks of the company. After the death of his parents, he gave up his career in the big city to move back home to raise his young brother in order to keep him in school, to give him some aspect of a family structure and unknown to him at the time, to be a role model for him to emulate. He enlisted in the Army during World War II, in California, and served as a medic throughout his enlistment. It is also in California that he met the love of his life, Myrtle Esther Howell, and they married in Los Angeles in 1943. For a time they resided there, starting a family but eventually relocating to Oklahoma, settling in Coweta. It is there that he worked at a number of occupations including a position as the head bus mechanic for Coweta Public Schools, and operating one of the first billiard halls in Coweta, which he established to give local teenagers a place to congregate and help keep them out of mischief. His funeral service at the First United Methodist Church in Coweta saw folks in attendance who had been out of the area for many years. Some were there directly from work to attend the service, then returning to work afterward. The Methodist chapel was filled to capacity, standing room only, with the attendees spilling out the opened doors and trailing onto church lawn. That showed the impact that Pappy had on so many people over the years. Pappy was a unique human soul. A kind, caring and honorable gentleman who exemplified the life of Christ in all he endeavored in his earthly walk. Unassuming and unpretentious, so what you saw was what you got, and you got a lot more than you could ever possibly imagine. I was truly blessed to have known him, and to be able to call him a friend was an honor that I cherish to this day. Some of the fondest memories I can recall were the few visits where I found him alone at home and we'd sit in his small terrace garden or in the living room having deeply profound conversations about God, faith, the future and the past, as well as life and all its mysteries. My wish is for everyone who ever draws a breath to be able to know a man like Pappy Sullivan. But, I fear that this earth may very well never see the likes of him again.