Michaele Sullivan Archer, 76, died peacefully of natural causes January 3, 2024, in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Her loving husband, Douglas Winston Archer, rested beside her.
Born July 12, 1947 in Providence, Rhode Island, Michaele was the first daughter to Kieran and Helen Sullivan – a dashing young Navy couple who began their marriage after the Second World War. She had one brother – Terrance Wilfred, of Colorado – and three sisters – Erin Kathleen, of New Jersey, Shiela Kathleen, of Colorado, and Carlen Gay, of North Carolina.
Michaele studied nursing at James Madison University before attending the Norfolk General Hospital School of Nursing, where she graduated and became a Registered Nurse.
On May 9, 1970, she married Doug at Star of the Sea Catholic Church in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Their first son, Paul Warren, of Maryland, was born in Virginia Beach. Three sons followed once the family moved to Glen Ridge, New Jersey – Christopher Kieran, of Virginia, Mark Emery, of California, and Matthew Gregory Sullivan, also of California.
In Glen Ridge, Michaele presided over her family in a big, boisterous house perpetually filled with commotion, laughter, and love. In the kitchen, she was masterful at producing great, heaping feasts to feed not only her family, but also assorted friends the boys persuaded her to live with them. Quantity and quality were equally important. “A gallon of milk,” she’d often say, after dinner. “I can’t believe we go through a gallon of milk a day.” The training she received as a nurse proved to be excellent preparation for treating all the stitches, sprains, and fractures that inevitably occurred while raising her boys. In town, she was known as a Cub Scout Den Mother, a bible-study participant, and a Red Cross Volunteer, not to mention a devoted spectator at all the various wrestling matches and football games. Her Catholic faith was strong, and she frequently remarked how she believed the Saints would protect her boys. As those boys became men, she helped them raise a total of fourteen grandchildren, in addition to a step-grandchild. Everyone referred to her as “Nana”, since the word “grandma” didn’t accurately reflect her relentless energy.
Although she enjoyed life in Glen Ridge, her heart was in Virginia Beach, and she returned with Doug and her youngest son, Matt, in 1994. Resuming her nursing career for a single night a week, she rarely neglected her morning walks on the beach or attending to her garden. In 2008, on the day before Thanksgiving, she suffered a devastating brain aneurysm that left her permanently disabled. Her life forever changed that fateful day; yet, despite the circumstances, her devoted husband, Doug, did everything he could to ensure she had the best care possible. In his words, she was “a most patient patient”, and any number of doctors, nurses, and therapists would agree in that assessment. Her death freed her from her burden of the past fifteen years, and those who knew her before and after the aneurysm are comforted knowing it.
Michaele will be remembered as a kind, caring, loving mother and a devoted, active, grandmother who strengthened the faith and brightened the lives of so many people who were lucky enough to know her. She will be missed.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks any donations to be made to the Westminster Canterbury Hospice Enhancement Fund, 3181 Shore Drive, Virginia Beach, Virginia, 23451, or wcbay.com.