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Barry F. Sullivan, a former deputy mayor of New York City who generously served the archdiocese as a financial adviser to St. Joseph’s Seminary, Dunwoodie, died Aug. 11 after a long struggle with Parkinson’s disease. He was 85.
He was one of the driving forces of St. Joseph’s centennial celebration and campaign in 1996.
Along with his contributions at the seminary, Mr. Sullivan served on the board of trustees of Regis High School, his alma mater, for many years, working with Father James Carney, S.J. to organize and build the alumni fund-raising program.
Mr. Sullivan, a parishioner of St. Joseph’s in Bronxville, was a member of the Order of Malta and of the Pontifical Order of St. Gregory the Great.
He was deputy mayor for finance and economic development under Mayor David Dinkins. In 1994, he became chief operating officer of the New York City Board of Education. He served a term as president of the Bronxville Board of Education when his children were in the school system there.
He worked for 10 years as vice chairman of Sithe Energy in New York.
In Chicago, he was chairman and chief executive of the First Chicago Corporation, and executive vice president, senior vice president and member of the management committee at Chase Manhattan Bank.
He was a financial adviser to the Archdiocese of Chicago. He attended Georgetown University for three years before entering the United States Army. While at Georgetown, he played for the Hoyas, and earned and still holds the 10th highest career scoring average. His play there earned him a tryout with the New York Knicks. He was chairman and a member of the University of Chicago board of trustees, and a member of the Georgetown University board of directors.
Born in New York City, he was raised in the Bronx. He held a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University and a master’s and an honorary doctorate from the University of Chicago.
He is survived by his children, Barry Jr., Gerald, Mariellen, Scott and John, and 17 grandchildren. Audrey, his wife of 53 years, died in 2009.
A Funeral Mass was offered Aug. 16 at St. Joseph’s Church, Bronxville. Burial was in Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne
