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Friends, colleagues mourn the death of George Sullivan

by Rebecca Palsha
Thursday, September 24, 2009

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Family and friends mourned the death of former Anchorage Mayor George Sullivan on Thursday.

He died late Wednesday night at his home surrounded by family.

In Alaska's biggest city, you don't have to look far before you see the mark of the man who helped define Anchorage.

"My father was the greatest man I know," son Tim Sullivan said.

A young Tony Knowles was on the Anchorage Assembly when George Sullivan was mayor.

"He was a strong mayor, he was a good mayor, and he had a vision for Anchorage that made it a better place to live," he said.

And apparently he was a kind mayor. Knowles, who himself became mayor and later Alaska's governor, says he remembers a time when the two men were battling over policy. Knowles' mother was in town at the time and wanted to meet Sullivan.

"He said, ‘You know Mrs. Knowles, you are justified in being so proud of your son for building a business' -- I was in the restaurant business at the time -- ‘and being such a good public servant on the Assembly. I really enjoy working with him.' And he kind of looked at me and gave me that wink, so how could you not love a person like that," Knowles said.

He was also a hard worker. Larry Crawford worked with him at the time. He says Sullivan helped make Anchorage what it is today using money from an oil boom to build projects many of us now couldn't picture Anchorage without.

"It is a better place to live, and a lot of those changes -- positive changes -- are because of George," said Crawford, who was city manager during Sullivan's tenure. "Can you image us being without a performing arts center or sports facility or -- you know ‘The Lion King' wouldn't be here."

The City of Anchorage: George Sullivan's legacy.

Contact Rebecca Palsha at rpalsha@ktuu.com