VIII. Catherine Bernadette Moran
Catherine "Kae" Moran was born January 3, 1925 in the hospital in Brighton, Massachusetts. She
was the oldest of the "younger children" as the last four (Kae, Eileen, Tommie and Bernie) were
known in the family.
In 1945, when Kae was twenty years old, she started going with Lieutenant James T. Sullivan from
the Dorchester neighborhood. Lt. James "Jimmy" Sullivan was in the U. S. Army Air Force and
stationed in the Philippines when he came back to the States on an assignment to learn to fly the then
new B-32 at a Carswell Air Force base in Fort Worth, Texas. He was on leave visiting his family in
Dorchester after arriving in from the Philippines prior to reporting to the base in Fort Worth, when
he and Kae Moran started seeing one another.
Jimmy Sullivan was finished with his training in the new plane and in California awaiting
transportation back to the Pacific Theater of Operations when the war ended. He decided to stay in
the Reserves and made the transition from the U. S. Army to the U.S. Air Force.
Jim and Kae were married in 1949 and lived in Forest Hills, Massachusetts until he was recalled to
serve in the Korean War in May of 1952. Kae was expecting her first child and did not immediately
go with him to his assignment on a base in Rapid City, South Dakota. She followed in November
when the baby, James Thomas, was three months old.
In May, 1952, the Sullivans were transferred to Ellington Air Force Base in Houston, Texas where
Michael was born in St. Joseph's Hospital in August. Six months later the Sullivan family found
themselves in Sacramento, California where Jim Sullivan was going to an Air Force school and
learning about celestial radar navigation and electronics. After the school in California, Jim was
transferred to Savannah, Georgia. The family took the opportunity to visit Kae's brother John Moran
and his family in Salt Lake City on their way to Georgia. It was still 1953 and their first daughter,
Mary Rita was born in Savannah. The family stayed at Hunter Air Force Base at Savannah until
1959. Two more sons, Brian (1956) and Patrick (1958) were born there.
Jim was flying B-47s in 1959 and he was assigned to a B-47 unit in Morocco. The family followed
him there and lived at Ben Guerir Air Force Base about 40 miles from Marrakesh, Morocco. A
daughter, Eillen, was born at Nouasseur Air Force Base just outside Casablanca, Morocco.
After their North African adventure, the Sullivans found themselves back in North America, about
as far north as you can get and still be in the continental United States. They lived on Loring Air
Force Base located in northern Maine at Limestone, Maine, not far from the Canadian border. They
went from the desert and extreme heat to the mountains and extreme cold. The runway temperatures
at the base in Morocco was 125 degrees F while the temperature of the runways in Maine where -26
degrees F. The family went from almost ten years of warm climate to the chilling cold of northern
Maine. Needless to say the family had a major wardrobe redo. Kae said that after surviving two
winters there, the family was more than ready for the next assignment which was at Strategic Air
Command Headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska. Their daughter, Kathleen "Kate", was born there at
Bishop Bergen Mercy Hospital on April 23, 1964. In 1967 the family went home to Boston for
thirteen months while Jim went on a hardship tour to Korea. After Korea the family was back
together again and living in Dover, Delaware where Jim was stationed at Dover Air Force Base.
They were there only six months when Jim got orders to move to MAC Headquarters at Scott Air
Force Base, Illinois. The base was just 30 miles from St. Louis, Missouri and was where the older
children went to and graduated from high school.
After high school the two oldest, Jim and Mike started out on their own. Jim started college but
found he did not like it and joined the Air Force. He served a tour in Madrid, Spain before getting
out. Mike Sullivan went to work for the railroad in Boston. Mary Sullivan attended a secretarial
school in the Boston area.
In June, 1971, Jim Sullivan was transferred back to Dover Air Force Base where he flew C-141s to
Viet Nam bringing back dead U. S. servicemen. In August, 1972, Jim retired from the Air Force and
the family bought a home in Weymouth, Massachusetts not far from Boston. Jim Sullivan was in the
U. S. Air Force for a total of thirty years. When the family moved back to the Boston area, he took
a job managing a building (One Beacon Street) in Boston. He did this for ten years. Today he works
part-time for a livery service which allows him more time with his avocation - building furniture. He
has built a number of items for their home including; a grandfather clock, a banjo clock, a barometer,
silver chest and stand, a complete bedroom set with a blanket chest. He also built an oak hutch for
the kitchen.
Catherine "Kae" (Moran) Sullivan had her hands full with a house full of children to care for though
all the years plus the usual responsibilities of a military officer's wife. She loved to garden and care
for the shrubs, particularly the azaleas, rhododendrons in the yard at Weymouth. Plants in the house
were another diversion from household chores as were making flower arrangements. Naturally, as
a mother of seven children, Kae was a good cook and enjoyed cooking and baking.
Kae and Jim have made several trips to Ireland and have always enjoyed it, always finding new and
different things. They have become well acquainted with their ancestral homes and tracking down
their antecedents. Indeed, Kae, and Jim, have been more than a little helpful with this overall
genealogy. One of Jim and Kae's prize possessions from Ireland is the original hearth crane from the
Moran homestead in Carrowkeel. It stands in the fireplace in the Sullivan home in Weymouth. This is a different Weymouth home than the one the Sullivans lived in for twenty years. That was a lovely home with a large outdoor pool in a
big yard capable of holding great parties and reunions. Perfect for a large family. After the kids were all gone from the roost, the Sullivans decided to move into smaller quarters. Jim
designed the new home in Weymouth himself and it was built in 1993.
Not long after moving into the new home Kae was diagnosed as having a brain tumor. She underwent surgery and the large tumor
was successfully removed. Kae is as lively as ever. She and Jim love their new home and there are usually some kids around, grand kids. She will set you straight if you are wrong and make sure you do it right. She looks good and is up and about still gardening and such, she
is, nonetheless, a walking miracle.
Catherine "Kae" (Moran) and James "Jim" Sullivan have seven children:
James "Jim" Thomas, who was born August 11, 1951. He entered Harvard, after being discharged from the Air Force, where he graduated with honors. Today, he is an artist as well as a writer. He draws cartoons including political cartoons and has had published in the Boston Herald an article he wrote on Babe Ruth. Jim also paints and sculpts. He has produced, in honor of the Babe's 100th birthday, a bronze of Babe Ruth weighing 22 pounds that stands 19 1/2 inces tall. .Budweiser
presented a copy to Mark McGuire of the Saint Louis Cardinals for his record breaking
number of home runs in 1998. To read a Boston Globe story on the sculpture use this link. Jim is involved in computer graphics and teaches. He has
started his own company, Sullivan's Art Works. Jim married Rita Carson in 1985. Rita and
Jim have a home in Braintree, Massachusetts and they have three children:
1. Erin Mary was born in 1990.
2. Kerry Ann was born in 1992.
3. Shannon Mariah was born October 28 in 1996.
Michael Chistopher, born August 17, 1952 in Houston, Texas, is now a supervisor for Conrail, the New England railroad. Michael's hobbies include reading and playing hockey. He prefers to be the goalie. On December 4, 1987 he married Deborah Lee Newcomb. Deborah was born August 26, 1954 and is the daughter of Ronald Byron Newcomb and Rose Marie (Bowen) Newcomb. They have no children.
Mary Rita, born in Savannah, Georgia August 9, 1953, found she did not like office work, so she took up nursing and graduated from Boston State University with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 1979. She worked in the Boston City Hospital Emergency Room for many years. Mary married Donald Wycoff on June 24, 1977 in Dorchester. Donald was born in Boston on September 5, 1952, the son of Francis Leo and Frances Julia (Harmon) Wycoff. Mary and Donald had two sons:
Donál Peter was born December 21, 1977 in Boston. He is a former Eagle Scout and currently an honor student at Central Connecticut State University where he enjoys swimming and majors in History.
Stephen Andrew was born July 6, 1979 in Boston. Stephen is in his Senior year at Fitch Senior High School where he enjoys participating in swimming and track. Stephen is a Life Scout of the Boy Scouts of America.
Mary and Donald were divorced in 1982. He died in 1992. On August 8, 1987, Mary married Robert Young. Robert was born December 24, 1944 in Boston the son of Robert Carl Young and Marguerite (Kelly) Young. Robert works as a Project Engineer for General Dynamics Electric Boat Division in Groton, Connecticut. They live in Mystic, Connecticut and have four children:
Bridget Laura born July 27, 1988 in New London, Connecticut.
Joshua David born December 11, 1989 in New London.
Eileen Mariah born October 3, 1991 in New London.
Caleb Austin born August 20, 1993 in New London.
Seamus Jacob born and died February 18, 1996 in New London.
Brian Patrick, born in Savannah September 21,1956, is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts and is currently an inspector for the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority. He also works at promoting his brother Jim's art talent by assisting with Sullivan's Art Works. Brian is
unmarried, an avid traveler, enjoys photography and is an enthusiastic art collector. Brian Sullivan put together the 1996 Moran Reunion in South Boston. He preferred to call it the
Moran Family Outing. It was a very successful outing indeed and led to the 1998 outing that
he also organized. The latter was noted for the attendance of Morans from Texas and Canada.
It was at the 1998 outing that this genealogy was presented to those in the family who helped
so very much in its preparation.
Patrick Colin, another Georgian born in Savannah on May 13, 1958, attends Salem State University in Lynn, Massachusetts. He is working on a B.A. in Fire Science while also working in the Lynn Fire Department. On May 25, 1996, Patrick married Stephan Kelly. They live on the North Shore of Boston. They have a daughter:
Kaelin Mairead
Eileen Maread, born in Morocco on May 11, 1960 graduated with Magna Cum Laude from Stonehill College in 1982 and then from Suffolk Law School in 1986. She worked six years as an Assitant District Attorney for Suffolk County (Boston) and currently is the Assistant Counsel to the Counsel of the Massachusetts State Senate in Boston. She married Patrick Foley Fitzgerald in September, 1995. Patrick, who works in the field of financial services, and Eileen live in Milton, Massachusetts. They have two sons:
Liam Seamus born May 8, 1997.
Patrick Foley born May 10, 1999.
Kathleen Marie, who was born in Omaha, Nebraska on April 23, 1964, graduated from Salem State University in 1988 and is now working for the Metropolitan District Commission in Boston. She spends what free time she can find on the Charles River rowing. Kathleen has many trophies and medals she has earned including a Gold Medal and a Silver Medal at the 1995 Masters National Regatta in St. Paul, Minnesota and two Silver Medals from the Masters National Regatta in Augusta, Georgia in 1994. She also runs and has participated
in Boston's famed Boston Marathon.
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