Helen Margaret Sullivan, MSW, J.D.

Helen Margaret Sullivan was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, on July 14, 1945.  She passed away on October 29, 2018 at the age of 73 after living 14 years with Alzheimer’s disease.

She moved to Germany with her father, LTC John Sullivan, and mother, Irene Sullivan, at the end of World War II serving with the American Army of Occupation.  After that assignment, Margaret and her family were in Virginia and Kentucky and then came to Seattle, Washington for her childhood and teen years.  She attended Assumption Catholic grade school and graduated from Bishop Blanchet High School in 1963 where she was a student leader and student body officer.  She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree and proceeded to a Masters of Clinical Social Work from the University of Washington.   .

Margaret had an abiding desire to help others.  The manifestation of this desire was Silver Hill Services to Families and Children in Silver Springs, Maryland.  Margaret was the founder, director and provider of psychotherapy and counseling services to thousands of families and individuals for 35 years.  She oversaw a mixture of mental health services provided by psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers. At the same time Margaret provided services at the clinic, she earned a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from Catholic University in Washington, D.C. in 1979.  She briefly joined the law practice of Goldman, Nichols, Kovelant, Pedersen, Hurtt & Kruger in 1982.  She was a member of the Washington Bar and the Maryland Bar and was also a member of several committees of the American Bar Association.  After several decades in the Washington, D.C. area, Margaret retired and returned to the Pacific Northwest in 2007.

In 1986 Margaret married David Schutt, MD.  They have a son, Ryan, age 31. 

Margaret loved to read and she passed that love onto her son by having a house full of books and  reading to him every day of his childhood.  As a baby when he wouldn’t sleep she would dance with him watching Gene Kelly in “Singin’ in the Rain”.  She also loved to travel and was always worried that she was missing something exciting happening in the next town.  Her travels took her to China, Far East, Europe, Belize and South Africa.  Margaret was also game for any outdoor activity.  She skied and hiked, and sailed in Maine, on Chesapeake Bay, in Puget Sound and Desolation Sound.  She also loved animals and volunteered at the Tacoma Humane Society.  The theater and concerts were also a passion.

Margaret is preceded in death by her parents, John and Irene Sullivan, and brother, John Anthony Sullivan, who was killed in Viet Nam in 1968. She is survived by her husband David and son Ryan and her four siblings, Joan Sullivan, MD; Jim Sullivan; Tim Sullivan and Robert Sullivan and multiple nieces and nephews.

Special gratitude goes to Everlyn and William Becles-Dulay who provided loving care for Margaret during the last years of her life.

A celebration of Margaret’s life will be held soon.

In lieu of flowers, Margaret’s family requests a donation to the Alzheimer’s Association to continue Margaret’s desire to help others.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Helen Margaret Sullivan, MSW, J.D., please visit our floral store.