Charles "Chuck" Sullivan, Jr.

Charles Sullivan Jr. known as “Chuck” was raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was a long-time resident of Portland, Oregon. Portland was a city he loved dearly.

He was a professor of Philosophy and English at Portland Community College for many years and also taught at the University of Portland and throughout the years, at a few other local colleges.

He held a BA in Philosophy, and a BA & MA in English from Portland State University and an MA in Philosophy from the University of BC, Canada.

He co-authored a science book “The Top Ten Myths About Evolution” with his good friend archeologist Cameron Smith and was published in the New Yorker. In his master’s thesis, a book entitled “The Long Road Home,” he chronicled his hitchhiking trip down to the deep south to politically protest when he was a teenager.

He used his sense of humor to balance his thought-provoking conversation with family, friends, colleagues and students. He was a committed and an excellent teacher.

He was an accomplished musician. He had an eclectic and extensive vinyl music collection and was drawn to Afro-Caribbean beats. Drums and percussion were his first instruments. Then he expanded into flute, mandolin and banjo. He was an excellent writer of lyrics as well as music.

He also loved gardening and was an excellent and skilled cook. He could also make a gourmet grilled cheese sandwich -- a family favorite growing up. He was a lover of dogs and had several over the years.

His brilliant mind would push others to think past their stances and expand their views and processes. He believed that people can change at any given time to become their best selves.

He was preceded in death by his father Charles Sullivan in 1999 and was survived by his mother Patricia Sullivan Ph.D. (who passed away in 2022). He is also survived by his sister Hanorah Sullivan Houndalas, brother-in-law Dimitris Houndalas and his nephew Nicholas Houndalas as well as aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.

If you want to know the character of a person, take a look at their friends and I can assure you that his friends were both fascinating, intelligent, and creative.

His death was a shock near the beginning of the pandemic and the entire family refrained from any travel or service. It was a difficult time for us all in more ways than one. If it had been a different time, we would have had a more lovely send off. He was cremated and his ashes laid to rest in 2022 with our mothers in Virginia Beach.

His social media postings of his daily walks with photos and videos, especially those of crows which he educated us on, will be missed. We are grateful for having had him in our lives and he will live on in our hearts. May you rest in peace my dear brother.