Oral Leon Sullivan

Oral Leon Sullivan was born Aug. 26, 1915, in Leeds, Utah. He was the fourth of 11 children born to William Duncan Sullivan Jr. and Annie Maria "Lyle" Olsen Sullivan. He grew up in Hurricane, Utah, on the family homestead, which was about 640 acres. His father raised sheep and also had a shearing corral. When Leon was a teenager, he would go out with the herds all summer long. During the Depression, his family lost the sheep and much of their property and had to work for other people. They also ran the telephone switchboard in the town for many years. Leon met his future wife, Verlene Walker, when his father was managing a cherry orchard and had hired her as a cherry packer. She was 16 and had just moved to town, he was 22. They were married over a year later in St. George, Utah, Sept. 16, 1939, in the LDS Temple. Six weeks later, Leon left to fulfill a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the southern United States. He returned Dec. 4, 1941, three days before the attach on Pearl Harbor. He expected to serve in the military during the war, but was unable because of a medical disqualification. The moved from Utah to Las Vegas to look for work and eventually found employment at a Safeway grocery store, then later a position at Railway Express Agency, where he was to work for 33 years. Leon and Verlene moved to Henderson in 1946 and into their present home in 1954, where they raised their four children. They were both active in their church and community for many years, serving in various capacities. Verlene passed away in 2003, they had been married for over 63 years. Leon lived for eight more years, but passed away Dec. 10, 2011, at the age of 96. He is survived by his four children, Leslie Ann (Mainor), Brian, Kerrie (Lough) and Jeffrey; four sisters, Vivien Heaton, Toni Jeffs, Gay Egley and Mary Jane Bleak; 13 grandchildren; and 45 great-grandchildren. The family is greatly appreciated of all those who lovingly assisted him during the last few years of his life. Memorial services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 17, at the LDS Chapel, 400 Water St. Henderson. There will be a 9 a.m. viewing prior to the service. Interment will follow later that afternoon at the Hurricane Cemetery.

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