The sudden passing of Jim Sullivan

Jim Sullivan, the 1987 Canadian Junior and 1988 World Junior curling champion, passed away suddenly on Saturday at his parents home in Fredericton. No cause of death has been released. 

Sullivan, who lived in Saint John, was a marvelous curler in his day, a joy to watch, sliding with a rock in his hand.

The second Brier I covered was in 1990, up in the Sault, when Jim and his rink managed to get past Al Harnden in the semi-final and reach a dominant Ed Werenich team in the final.

I remember talking to him after that semi-final and despite the accomplishment, he was quiet in his enthusiasm, smiling but not exactly whoop-whoop-whooping it up. That was Jim, as I came to learn. He never stopped smiling, was always friendly, but preferred actions to words.

They didn’t get past the Wrench that year, but for an unheralded New Brunswick team to reach the Brier final was quite an something. Big things were expected for the young squad and the skip who had a World Junior title to his credit as well.

The obituary is located here.