Kevin Sullivan, Sonoma political activist and Comcast engineer, dies at 63

If Kevin Sullivan of Sonoma wasn’t on the job as a Comcast engineer, he was likely riding his motorcycle or agitating for social justice, or both.

“He was the most passionate political person I’d ever seen,” said his wife, Sherry Sullivan. She tried with varying success to make their Sundays together a no-politics, hop-onto-the-Harley day.

Kevin Sullivan was riding alone on Highway 12 near Interstate 80 in Solano County when, according to the CHP, the driver of a car made a left turn directly in his path. Sullivan died of the injuries he suffered in the Nov. 6 collision. He was 63.

Longtime friend and fellow activist Mary Moore of Camp Meeker said Sullivan was analytical and understood the systems and alliances that produce war, economic inequality and other injustices.

“He was always somebody who put the issues together,” said Moore, who first worked with Sullivan on the protests she organized at the Bohemian Grove in the early 1980s.

“He was never naive: ‘Let’s just have peace on earth.’ He got why we didn’t.”

“He was a multi-issue person,” Moore added. “He paid attention, that’s the bottom line.”

Sullivan grew up in Sonoma County and as a young man went into the cable TV business. He worked his way up to head engineer at the Comcast center in Rohnert Park. His skill and performance brought him numerous awards, his wife said.

For weeks after the firestorms of early October, he worked long days helping to restore Internet, TV and other services to local Comcast customers, his wife said.

“He loved his job,” Sherry Sullivan said.

Moore, the veteran peace-and-equality activist, said Kevin Sullivan freely shared his familiarity with technology, hosting websites and troubleshooting for Expose Bohemian Grove and other political endeavors.

“I always felt that if there was something I needed, I could call on Kevin,” Moore said.

Sullivan’s wife felt the same way. The former Sherry Morrison married Kevin Sullivan only 1½ years ago, but they had been close for nearly nine years.

Sherry Sullivan said her husband was important to many people, certainly to the three children he took to political rallies as youngsters and taught to be generous, to stand up for what they believe is right and to treat people the way they themselves would want to be treated. He would often prepare sandwiches and give them to people living on the streets or in parks.

His wife said they started each day by flipping on MSNBC. Sometimes on a politics-free Sunday, Sherry Sullivan would find her husband watching a war documentary and shouting at the television. That might be the time she’d suggest they fire up the Harley-Davidson.

She said he studied and treasured history, and he valued the artifacts of his life.

“He never threw anything away,” she said. “He kept everything. Everything had a memory for him.”

In addition to his wife in Sonoma, Kevin Sullivan is survived by his children, Sean Sullivan and Keleigh Sullivan, both of Sonoma, and Alanna Tsivislavsky of Los Angeles; his stepdaughter, Kaitlyn Morrison of Los Angeles; his sister, Tracy Sullivan of Santa Rosa, and two grandchildren.

There will be a wake from 7 p.m. to closing time on Dec. 8 at Murphy’s Irish Pub in Sonoma.

Sullivan’s family has opened a GoFundMe account at gofundme.com/?kevin-sullivan-medical-fund.