Obituary of David L. Sullivan

David Lee Sullivan, 86, of State College, died on Thursday, December 10, 2015, at home. Born October 19, 1929 in Cameron, West Virginia, he was the son of the late William Joseph Sullivan and Anna Jones Sullivan. On September 23, 1961, he married Barbara Ann Lewis who survives. He enlisted in the United States Navy as Electronics Petty Officer 2nd Class aboard the USS Midway and served in the north and south Atlantic as well as the Mediterranean from 1947 through mid-1952. He graduated from Penn State in 1956 with a degree in Electrical Engineering and completed a variety of graduate-level courses at Syracuse University. He was also employed by International Business Machines Corporation and the Prodigy Services Company for over 30 years. Sullivan joined IBM in 1956 in the then Federal Systems Division, working in various engineering management positions related to United States Air Force weapons and navigational guidance systems for the B-48, B-52 and B-70 bomber aircraft. On NASA projects while with IBM, he was responsible for key assignments on the Saturn, Titan, Gemini, Orbiting Astronomical Observatory, and other rocket module projects. From 1963 to 1983, Sullivan accepted assignments in several IBM commercial divisions where he held senior management positions in telephony, banking, retail, personal computing, videotex, market research and corporate strategic planning projects. In 1984, he worked in IBM Headquarters on several joint ventures when he was promoted to the position of Director of Market Research in the Prodigy Services Company, a partnership between IBM, CBS & Sears. He retired from Prodigy in August 1991. He and his wife moved to State College in 1991. In 1993-1994, he accepted a position as Visiting Lecturer in the Smeal College of Business Administration. From August 1994 to August 1997, he served as Director of the Entrepreneurial Market Research Center at the Penn State Technology Center. He was a member of St. Paul's United Methodist Church in State College, PA. He enjoyed studying and watching professional magic and magicians. He was a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians and Centre Squares and Mt. Nittany Square Dance Clubs. He enjoyed amateur woodworking. In 1999, he started investigating family genealogy and created a Personal Ancestral File dating to Robert Zane, 1642, Yarcombe, Devonshire, England. Over 800 related individuals and nearly 300 marriages are included. He was a collector and reader of books. In addition to his wife, two sons, James Allen of Reston, Virginia & Steven Michael of Van Nuys, California and a daughter, Sandra Michelle Ordonez of Herndon, Virginia, survive him. A sister and two brothers preceded him in death. Services will be private at the convenience of the family. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Paul's United Methodist Church, 250 E. College Ave, State College, PA 16801. Arrangements are under the care of Koch Funeral Home, State College. Online condolences and signing of the guest book may be entered at www.kochfuneralhome.com or visit us on Facebook.