Gary Lawrence Sullivan

Everything changed on March 23, 1938, when Myrtle Frances Young Sullivan delivered Gary Lawrence (Sully) Sullivan. She bundled up her baby boy and took him to his Nampa, Idaho home, with his dad, Burnham Bernard (B.B.) Sullivan, to meet his older brother Clayton Lane. From that moment on, Gary, with his infectious smile and laugh, green eyes, feisty sense of humor and endless energy, kept the family, Nampa, and the Treasure Valley on its toes. 

Gary was deeply loved, loved deeply and was loyal to his people and to his animals, especially his childhood dog, Blackie, his two mid-life crisis Teacup Poodles Bo and Tuffy, and his cats that brought him joy later in life: Domino, Gertie and Cujo. He embraced his parents’ work ethic and values, especially integrity, initiative, chivalry, and proper manners. He and his brother worked on their family’s land and together created their own businesses as kids, including a profitable strawberry patch. Much was expected of them. Gary loved his cousins too, especially Dale Bailey. He, Dale, and Clayton logged countless miles on their bikes in Nampa, Eagle, and all destinations in between, with the retelling of those antics continuing to bring laughter into their twilight years. 

A 1956 graduate of Nampa High School, Gary did not love school, but did treasure his friendships from school so much that he kept them for a lifetime, including Gary Knudsen, Blaine Harper, and Dee Maughn.

Gary loved his country. After high school, he joined the United States Marine Corps and was proud to serve as a Sergeant. He dedicated himself to his Seal Beach training and his work as a Military Police Officer in Los Angeles. On Sunset Boulevard, he met actors and other characters and was so proud to help people: Delivering a baby in the back of a car on his Hollywood Blvd. beat was just one of his cherished accomplishments.

He came back to Idaho and married Barbra Ellen Doss (now Barbra Scott). They spent 30 years together and shared their three beloved daughters, Stacey Dianne, Trudy Marie, and Lisa Kathleen. After living in Nampa, Salt Lake City and Idaho Falls, Gary bought, remodeled, and continued to update their family’s Boise home on Bacon Drive. Along with teaching them to hang sheetrock and prep and paint the twists and turns of wrought iron fencing, he kept his girls busy with skiing, waterskiing behind one of his two boats, usually the candy apple red tunnel hull with the Mercury outboard motor, golf lessons, riding horses and working at the family business of nearly 50 years, Quinn’s Restaurant & Lounge, on Vista Avenue in Boise. Research shows 60 percent of restaurants don’t make it through the first year; those that do typically fold before year six. Quinn’s success is a testament to Gary’s business savvy, network, and ability to deeply connect with and understand his customers. Some came in just to hear Sully tell a story, an Irish limerick that might curl their hair and toes or a joke. Gary created a culture at Quinn’s where people from all walks of life rubbed shoulders, shared differing opinions, talked about current events, and were welcomed, respected, and heard.

He and his partner, the late Stanley Rice, had never owned a restaurant when they bought Quinn’s. In fact, the first steak they served, Gary ran across the street and purchased in the grocery store before throwing it on the grill. He learned to master that grill and kitchen, eventually buying Stan out, but not before they tried their hands with other Idaho businesses too, including The Olympic Bar, The Shah, and the Hiawatha Hotel in Hailey. From an early age, Gary’s daughters all worked at Quinn’s, washing dishes, scrubbing potatoes, cleaning up the parking lot, whatever was needed. Lisa ran the business following Gary’s dementia onset and progression.

Gary was active in the community and increased visibility and awareness about all that Idaho had to offer. He lobbied the legislature in partnership with the Association of Idaho Merchants (AIM) and other organizations to create additional revenue from hard liquor sales on Sundays and 2 am last call; sponsored his daughters’ St. Joseph Catholic School softball teams; supported the St. John Cathedral’s Annual Crab Feed; and donated to local Pool (Billiard) League Tournaments. Gary was the first person, on January 1, 1975, to waterski at Spring Shores Marina, with Gerry and Arlene Stoors’ active involvement and support, long before what’s now called “The Polar Plunge.” Countless people were introduced to a potential employer or new friend or bailed out of a tight spot by or because of Gary. He was always willing to lend a helping hand. Befriend someone down on their luck. Open a door for a stranger. Make someone laugh aloud, sometimes until they cried. Root for the underdog. He tried to live his life by the Golden Rule. 

Once a Marine, always a Marine, Gary ensured that Quinn’s still serves as the Marines’ home away from home. On Saturdays for more than two decades, Gary hosted a table full of Marine Corps League members, and the tradition continues. About 35 years ago, he began hosting an annual Marine Corps Birthday party. The cake is still cut with a bayonet owned by the late First Sergeant Boyce Williamson, Gary’s Marine Corps recruiter, then neighbor. Since the 1980’s, Quinn’s has been recognized as one of the state’s largest small business contributors to the US Marine Corps Toys for Tots. In 2010, Gary was one of six original founders of the Toys for Tots Poker Run and Silent Auction, which is embarking on its 15th year of toy and financial donation collections, making the Treasure Valley one of the largest contributors to the US Marine Corps Toys for Tots’ national campaign. 

Gary also celebrated his Irish culture and heritage, which he studied and encouraged his daughters to embrace. Beginning in the 1970’s, Quinn’s was one of Boise’s original St. Patty’s Day party locations featuring bagpipers, The Boise Highlanders, with Bill Early and Ron Lopez. Gary and longtime cook Bob Lee’s authentic corned beef and cabbage recipe is still popular. The restaurant and lounge staff received ample accolades for a variety of accomplishments that continue to make Boise a better city in which to work and live.

Gary appreciated the lessons, values and discipline provided to him by the US Marine Corps and the ways they helped him grow and develop personally. Those lessons stayed with him his entire life: During his first hospice visit, Gary did fifty pushups and eighty sit ups. He kept after it until he couldn’t. If you know, you know just how many vitamins and supplements Gary could swallow at once. 

Gary’s heart was happiest when he was with his three girls and then his three grandchildren. Favorite memories include waterskiing and time at the lake; annually attending The Snake River Stampede, usually with the Knudsen family, especially enjoying the “back in the day” musical acts and hanging off the outdoor wire fence for the bull riding; skiing at Bogus Basin; road trips to Oregon; California; Vegas; Arizona; Stanley; Warm Lake; Garden Valley; Reno and Yellowstone; and family dinners at the late Hank and Marie’s La Fiesta, Ontario’s Golden Star, and The Royal Restaurant. Gin Rummy was a staple. One camping trip, sleeping under black plastic near Redfish Lake, because the temperature plummeted, and Gary had forgotten the tent, took a long time to warm up enough to laugh about, but was good, old-fashioned family fun. With his grandkids, Gary was hands on, making custom golf clubs, pitching wiffle balls, cheering from the sides of soccer fields or at a ballet recital. He honored their passions.

Gary was a proverbial jack of all trades and master of most. He learned masonry, roofing, framing, and building houses. He sold books door to door, Encyclopedias and Books of Knowledge, which even took him to the frigid winters of the Badlands. He enjoyed reading, especially espionage, and watching James Bond movies. He loved a good nine holes and the 19th hole at Plantation, Warm Springs or Crane Creek Country Club or a bike ride to the Crow Inn to commiserate about the industry with one of his closest friends, Ben Hamilton. Music, especially live music, spoke to his soul and he took his girls and their friends to iconic shows, including Paul McCartney & Wings, Willie Nelson, Tina Turner and Johnny and June Carter Cash. He’d make the road trip to Portland, Ore., to dance at the now defunct Key Largo, or to bring his boat to participate in the Waiter’s Race at the former Salty’s on the Willamette River’s ramp. He spent a lot of time on and in the water in Idaho, with Spring Shores Marina being the heart and start of many lifelong family friendships with other boating and sailing enthusiasts. Gary loved everything about the water, from swimming to water skiing to scuba diving to deep sea fishing, including in Mexico and The San Juan Islands.

Gary is survived by his three daughters, sons in law Charles Stoudamire and Steve Rogers; former wife Barbra Scott; grandchildren LJ Sullivan, Maalik and Maya Stoudamire; his sister-in-law Sharon; niece Terri, her son Dakota; and his late niece Tamara and her husband Corey Watson’s children, Angie Hancock (Don) and their six children; Arynn Prescott (Dev) and Austyn Sullivan-Watson. He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother, with whom he spent his last year and a half living with in memory care, his parents’ siblings, his cousins, lifelong friends, and family pets.

The family is grateful to Gary’s caregivers at Boise’s Cornerstone Memory Care, and to Keystone Hospice. They kept him safe, embraced his feistiness and sense of humor and loved and respected him with their service, quality care and compassion. 

A Celebration of Life and Military Interment at the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery will be held this summer and supported by Relyea Funeral Home, Boise, Idaho. 

Gary and his daughters would be honored to have gifts made in his name to the US Marine Corps Boise Toys for Tots campaign, 4087 W. Harvard Street, Building 800, Boise, Idaho, 83705.