Frank Patrick Sullivan, Sr., Man of Steel ----
Steele Sullivan knows there is a man in Heaven now known as PaPa , who knows how to build the best steel buildings in the world, knows all about fishing, knives, wood carving, machines and who always buys him Dr. Pepper to wire him up, so his mom will be upset with him. Papa takes him to equipment auctions, bad snack food stores, Monster Truck events, smoke – filled coffee shops, cattle auction houses, old jails and breweries. Papa goes to every activity and sport Steele participates in and supports him in every challenge that comes his way.
Skylar Sullivan knows about the handsome man in Heaven who is also known as Gramps who gives her money after every sports game she and Steele ever played, but the UIL never found out about it. She knows the man who sat her on his knee in his office while he sketched buildings and smoked cigarettes even though it was against the rules. Skylar knows a Grampa who would give her the world on a silver platter, but instead fills her heart with love and her hands with diamonds and jewels. He knows all her friends and loves them equally and nothing fills his heart more than to have them all hang out at his house and make a lot of noise at pool parties.
Molly Sullivan-Briscoe knows the man in Heaven as Daddy who never lets her down, laughs with her through good and bad times, accepts all her friends as his own and even hired some of them… which sometimes didn't turn out too well! He warned her boyfriends that he owned a shotgun and backhoe and was not afraid to use them. He would surprise her with sparkly jewels on her special days and dance with her on sand covered dance floors. He then shared his workplace with her, which occasionally included a reference to his view on women in construction, continuing into an argument and then an invitation to lunch by daddy to make up with his little girl.
Danny Sullivan likewise knows the man in Heaven, his Dad, as someone he dearly loves. The two could fight day and night and still come out hugging each other on the other side. Both cut from the same cloth, both are always "right" and both would not apologize. Both are actors of sorts, one on stage and the elder in a way that if he didn't quite know how to figure out a solution to a problem he'd "act" like he could and he usually succeeded. Danny's dad never quite figured out how his second son managed to wrap a perfectly good car bumper around a pole on campus at SHS, then proceed to pull the headlights off when the car was backed out. He also had a hard time figuring out how Danny ran a perfectly good Camaro into a parked truck in Glen Cove. And then there was the incident of the shattered greenhouse windows on College St. Only "Pinky" Perrill , Danny and Todd Knight know the truth about that one! The mysteries remain.
Frank Sullivan Jr. knows the man in Heaven as Sr. and as his clone. The son first questioned the need to have the same exact name as his father, he now knows, as the first born, the reason why it is… the BEST name in the world. He worked with his dad as soon as he could carry a tool box and drove equipment and vehicles for his dad well before the "legal age". The work the Sullivan boys did, alongside their dad, in the early days encompassed many fields of endeavor. Some of those included going under houses to remove deceased animals, hunting for snakes in a five foot diameter well, putting every imaginable steel building in every imaginable location in the U.S. … always staying in the worst motels, but always being fed and being paid well (or as well as possible for the time frame). Again, the father could never figure out in regard to this son, why it was called to his attention by law enforcement , that the Navarro High School track had truck tire ruts embedded into it. Likewise Sr. wondered how a rope ladder suddenly appeared in the boys second story bedroom! And then strangely enough, whose idea was it go to D & D, purchase full spelunking gear and goggles and while dodging tarantulas and scorpions, complete another extermination project? Another mystery remains.
Kelle Frantz Sullivan knows her father in law as a man with a never-ending heart who will always be known as Papa Sullivan to any child who ever played a team sport with Skylar and Steele. When Sky's Little League softball team made it to the Region finals, he secretly gave each of the girls $100 for spending money so they could enjoy this once in a lifetime event. Kelle will forever remember him as the man, even in his final days, polite and gracious to the hospital staff regardless of the pain he quietly endured. Kelle also knows he's the best grandfather in the world and now… in Heaven.
Neil Briscoe knows a redneck from Texas who is in Heaven now, who he met because he fell in love with a girl named Molly. Neil knows Frank Sr. as a man of his word, a man with a temper and a man with a huge heart. Neil knows Frank is not a boat captain and not a plumber but Frank would try to fix anything and then not ever admit he might be wrong with the method he chose.

Juliane Schneider knows Frank as her best friend and one who never abandoned her or let her down. He is her other left hand, since they are both left - handed and he is her rock. He "picked her up" to give her a drive home when she was walking with her friends from Starcke Park in 1962 and the two have been riding around together ever since. They went to drag races, Caribbean islands, casinos, Lake Tahoe, Mexican resorts, mud races, Bahaman cruises, Port A, Seadrift, fishing, boating and they still are together after 47 years, just not at their home but in their spirit and soul. And yes, she knows there will never be another man who can replace him in life, in work, in marriage, in dancing and in love.
Frank graduated from Seguin High School class of 1960 but with his parents and siblings had lived many places prior to Seguin because of the nature of his dad's role in the steel business in Texas. Frank moved one last time to Seguin in 1964 when he and Juliane were engaged then married Aug. 21, of that year at St. James Catholic Church. Frank, like his dad, his father and his brothers was always in the construction business, except for a few ventures into other areas… because he always liked a challenge, a lucrative plan.
In the sixties the people at SMI knew Frank as a hard working SHS senior, eager for a work study part- time job. Police Chief Leroy Schneider knew Frank later in the sixties, as his soon- to- be nephew by marriage… Frank would become a police officer for the City of Seguin. Gerald Schumann knew Frank as his Patrol Officer partner in those law enforcement days and the two shared a multitude of adventures and mis-adventures.
Shag Fennell knew Frank as a budding entrepreneur wanting to learn how to sell and build fencing as a side venture. Wiley Dodd knew Frank as an enterprising young married man with two young sons who wanted to learn the pest control business and he had a "built in crew" in Franky and Danny. Among their contracts in those days, together the three tackled the task of machine treating chemicals for every dormitory and building on Texas Lutheran College campus, guaranteeing that all structures would be "bug free".
Gus Worthington and Arlon Kirchner knew Frank as a metal building designer and erector. Many of those A-Frame homes he built are located in the New Braunfels Landa Park vacation rentals neighborhood.
Buddy Raymond knew Frank when they worked in the same building on the 500 block of North Austin St. where Frank had a welding shop.
Ernest Plant knew Frank from their days of working together on the road for Far West Corporation/ Church's Fried Chicken. Frank and his crew traveled through the U.S. in well known and lesser known locations with a crew that consisted of his two sons and many of their friends. Each project was different and unique and left many stories to be shared.
That was Frank's expertise… problem solving and trouble shooting… custom designing each building for each client.
Wayne Hudgens knew Frank because he welded pump jacks for oil field work and as they all knew, Frank was a man of his word and would get the job done. Herman Raske met Frank when he purchased the Raske gas station at "Four Corners" and Mrs. Raske , Richard Raske, and Roby Morgan all worked with the Sullivans. Mrs. Raske would sit little baby Molly on her lap, while answering the phone for the station while Frank and Dan were assigned the task of mopping the concrete driveways and bays weekly.
The staff of Sears Catalog Store, formerly located in Oak Park Mall, knew Frank through his work as a salesman for their products. Although being someone's "employee" was never Frank's favorite work style, he was always a man unto himself, his own boss. Employees of another part time employer, KMart of Seguin, knew Frank when he worked there as a Security Officer. Frank worked at many part time jobs, simultaneously - in the sixties and seventies, never believing in wasting time and always seeking to provide a better life for his wife and children.
Frank didn't have a lot of time for hobbies, his "hobby" was his career. His life was work and his work was his life but he rarely missed an event in which his kids and grandkids were involved. The Cub Scout leaders in Seguin knew Frank as a Cub leader in the blue office building he once owned on Huber Road. He always believed in joining the kids in their activities, not just viewing them from afar. Their Little League games, boxing matches, theatre productions, choir concerts, church and school events all filled Frank's calendar 24/7. He will forever be cherished by them for that devotion.
The Sullivan family knew Frank as an upwardly mobile person because even though he had his own office for his present day business, through the years, both he and his dad had "mobile" offices at the King Bee, the IHOP, the Pic a Taco and the Kettle. Everyone knew they could always make contact with Frank when he wasn't on a jobsite or at home, he'd be at one of his "mobile offices". Frank Jr. and Danny like to joke that the Sullivan family also believed in mobile residential locations, having lived in 12 different houses before settling in at the one on Rudeloff Road, the house which the entire family helped to build. Frank was "flipping"real estate long before that current term was ever established.
When Frank Sr., Jr and Kelle worked together for a few years, before Jr. and Kelle established their separate business, Sullivan Contracting Services, Kelle coined the phrase "If you can dream it, we can build it!" and that remains the trademark for Sullivan and Son Construction through today in the business with his daughter, Molly Sullivan-Briscoe . Following in dad's footsteps, Frank Jr., Molly and Neil Briscoe continue to carry on the business of Sullivan and Son expanding upon 50 years of experience in custom fabrication, welding and bolt up metal buildings.
The first metal building Frank designed and erected is located on the West side of Hwy 46 North toward New Braunfels… it is now a game processing business. Some of the most unique designs by Frank and the Sullivan and Son crew include the Heritage Museum of the Texas Hill Country in Canyon Lake, the Texas Agricultural and Education Heritage Center, the "big red barn", in Seguin and the building which housed the former New Braunfels Museum of Art and Music in Gruene.
The Sullivan family wishes to thank all the people who extended their hands and hearts during Frank's recent illness especially during the past weeks.
The family requests in lieu of flowers, Donations should be mailed to the following:
St. James Catholic School: Scholarship Memorial/ Frank Sullivan, Sr.,
Attention: Dawn Sandee/ Deanna Sanchez, 507 S. Camp Street, Seguin, TX 78155
Seguin High School: Welding Trades Program/ Frank Sullivan, Sr.,
Attention: Melinda Ingersoll, 817 Lamar Street, Seguin, TX 78155
Lifegate Christian School: "PaPa" Sullivan Concession Stand/ Frank Sullivan, Sr.,
Attention: Beth Baitz, 395 Lifegate Lane, Seguin, TX 78155
Graduating Senior Bulldog Volleyball Scholarship/ Frank Sullivan, Sr., P.O. Box 984, Seguin, TX 78156
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Frank Patrick Sullivan, Sr., age 70 of Seguin, owner of Sullivan & Son Construction, passed away on February 2, 2012. A celebration of life service will be held on Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 2:00 p.m. at First Baptist Church with Rev. Steve Purdy officiating. A reception will follow at the Texas Agricultural Education and Heritage Center (Big Red Barn). Frank was born on October 29, 1941 in Dallas, Texas to Robert Charles Sullivan and Ethel Mae Robinson Sullivan Coleman. He graduated from Seguin High School in 1960. In 1964 he married Juliane Alexis Schneider. He is preceded in death by his parents, his brother, Michael Don Sullivan and his father-in-law and mother-in-law, Raymond and Aline Schneider. Survivors include his loving wife, Juliane Schneider Sullivan; sons, Frank Patrick Sullivan, Jr. and wife Kelle, and Daniel Byron Sullivan; daughter, Molly Maureen Sullivan-Briscoe and husband Neil; brother, Robert Charles Sullivan, Jr. and wife Joy; sister, Laura Marie Thompson and husband Charles; sister-in-law, Kathy Sullivan; the "Pride and Joy" of "Papa" Sullivan, his grandchildren, Skylar Rae Sullivan and Steele Nikolai Sullivan; aunts, Jennielou Robinson and Mrs. Leroy Schneider; numerous nieces, nephews and cousins and many friends of all ages.
Honorary Pallbearers:
Gerald Schumann, Lonnie Zoboroski, John Davenport, Ed Gips, Santos Medina, Ernest Plant, Gary Briscoe, Roy New, Gil Assis, Calvin Turner, Justin Johnson, Ricardo Gallardo, Jeff Schneider, Martin Whitson, Sam Ridgway, David Perez, David Gonzales, Ben Moreno, Chuck Just, JJ Augustine, Vincent Grotheus, Scott Schumann, Lance Henderson and Todd Knight.