William Sullivan

Bill Sullivan, 82, of Bettendorf, Iowa died Tuesday, December 27, 2011. Bill and his wife Carmen recently moved from Sun City, AZ, to Iowa. A Mass of the Resurrection will be held at 1 p.m. at St. John Vianney Catholic Church in Bettendorf. The family asks that in lieu of flowers, gifts be given in Bill’s name to St. John Vianney Catholic Church. Inurnment will take place at the Rock Island National Cemetery, Rock Island, Illinois. McGinnis-Chambers Funeral Home of Bettendorf is assisting the family with arrangements.

Bill was born in San Francisco February 9, 1929 to William and Mary Sullivan. An only child, he was raised in San Francisco, and embarked on a professional singing career which took him across the country, into recording studios, and into a U.S. Army performance troupe, where he performed in Korea while in the service.

In 1955, Bill married Carmen Elaine Brech, a professional dancer, and the two settled in Pittsburgh, where they continued their show business careers until the birth of their first child, Bill. Following that, Bill went to work in home entertainment systems, and his career in marketing and merchandising sales of audio and television sets. Bill’s growing family included son Jeff and daughter Julie, and the family moved to Batavia, NY, when Bill went to work for Sylvania. Bill and his family later moved to Indianapolis, where he was president of the audio division of RCA. He and his family lived in Omaha and Minneapolis before Bill retired and moved to Sun City. In his time there, he was known as the Music Man, as he performed and spoke at local events highlighting the history of movie music.

Bill is survived by his wife Carmen, his sons Bill and of Tulsa, OK, Jeff of Omaha, NE, and Julie of Bettendorf. He is also survived by nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.