Doreen Nicholls Sullivan

Doreen Nicholls Sullivan passed away peacefully in her home on November 22, 2024.

Doreen was born on February 14, 1934 in London, England. She graduated from The Gray Coat Hospital Comprehensive School for Girls in London and worked as a telephone operator for RH Cole and Company and as a cashier at the Army Navy Store before getting married and moving to Alabama at the age of nineteen.

She later went to beauty school, and worked for a while as a beautician. After moving to Camden, SC, Doreen began working in the meat department at Bi-Lo and loved her colleagues and customers so much that she stayed there for twenty years before taking a cashier job at the IGA grocery store near her neighborhood.

Doreen was known for her mischievous sense of humor and her huge heart. She loved holding babies, watching any movie starring Jimmy Stewart, buying Christmas presents, listening to Frank Sinatra, and spending time with her family. Her children and grandchildren enjoyed hearing her stories about sheltering in the basement with her family while bombs dropped around them during World War II or about dancing with her sister and friends at the Astoria Ballroom. Her life in London seemed so exotic compared to working full time and raising children in a small town in America, but there is no doubt which life she preferred. She proudly became a US citizen in her sixties, and being a mother and especially a grandmother was her greatest joy.

Doreen was predeceased by her parents, her brother, her two sisters, and her husband of forty-one years, Bill Sullivan. She is survived by her children, Bill Jackson (Dee) of Decatur, Alabama, Sharon Mask (Dale) of Eclectic, Alabama, Teresa Hay (John) of Margate, England, Margaret Sullivan of Spartanburg, SC, Sheri Uggiano (Mark) of Columbia, SC, and Becky Sullivan of Camden, SC. in addition to twelve grandchildren (Michelle, Stacey, Cindy, Tony, Anneliese, Christina, Jonathan, Ryan, Reagan, Kori, Charleston, and Jed) and many great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.

The family wishes to thank the Agape Care Group and Jennifer Patton, Jullia Sears, and Margaret Schmidt for their loving support.

A memorial service will be held in Camden, SC.

Donations in Doreen’s honor may be made to Saint Jude’s Children’s Hospital or to the charity of one’s choice.