STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Native Staten Islander Timothy J. O'Sullivan, 77, of South Canaan, Pa., a retired FDNY firefighter and a businessman who loved his family and traveling the world, died Friday in Geisinger Community Medical Center, Scranton, Pa., of a stroke.
Born and raised in Annadale, he lived there until 1969, when he relocated to Damascus. Pa. He settled in South Canaan in the early 1980s.
Mr. O'Sullivan attended St. Peter's Boys High School and graduated from Tottenville High School.
He was 17 years old when he enlisted in the U.S. Army during the Korean War era, and was stationed stateside.
He attended college for a time before joining the FDNY, where he was assigned to busy Ladder Co. 6/ Engine Co. 9 in Manhattan's Chinatown. Injured in the line of duty, he went out on disability. He later owned and operated several businesses, including rental property and insulation companies.
Mr. O'Sullivan loved Irish step dancing and taught the traditional dance to many students. Proud of his Irish roots, he had traveled to Ireland many times.
But Ireland was just one of his destinations; he had been to more than 40 countries all over the world. His family had enjoyed putting pins on a map marking all of the places he had visited.
He was a very special human being, and will be remembered for his sharp wit, his generosity, his hard work and his great sense of humor, his family said.
Mr. O'Sullivan attended St. Thomas More R.C. Church, Lake Ariel, Pa.
His wife of 28 years, the former Janice Ihnken, died in 1988. He also was preceded in death by his son, Timothy Jr., in 2014, and his stepdaughter, Lucy Macking, several years ago.
Surviving are his partner, Shirley Macking; his son, William; his daughters, Kathleen Warner, Eileen O'Sullivan and Nancy Baudendistel; his brothers, John and Joseph; a stepson, Harold Macking; a stepdaughter, Sharri Tinko; 14 grandchildren; a stepgranddaughter, and three great-grandchildren.
The funeral will be Tuesday from the Wilson Funeral Home, Lake Ariel, with a mass at 10 a.m. in St. Thomas More Church. At his request, Mr. O'Sullivan's body will be donated to the Human Gifts Registry.