Only Widow of Five Sullivan Brothers Passes Away at Age 93

The only widow of the five Sullivan brothers, a war legacy that touches Eastern Iowa to this day, passed away on Friday at age 93, according to her family.

The granddaughter of Katherine McFarland described her a “a great woman, one of my best friends and an amazing role model for what a strong woman is”. Kelly Sullivan said her grandmother passed away at a retirement home in Cedar Falls.

In 1940, Katherine married Albert Sullivan, the union of two Waterloo teenagers who grew up on different sides of the city. Two years later, Iowa and the world would learn about the five brothers who, through tragedy, were forever known as the “Five Sullivan Brothers”.

On November 13, 1942, a Japanese torpedo hit and sunk the USS Juneau (CL-52) during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, killing 687 men including George Sullivan, 27, Frank Sullivan 26, Joe Sullivan 24, Matt Sullivan 23 and Albert “Al” Sullivan, only 20.

Pat Kinney of the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier reported, on Saturday, that Katherine Sullivan later remarried Dean McFarland, a local World War II veteran and president of the United Auto Workers Local 838, and who proceeded her in death in 1986. Al and Katherine Sullivan did have a son, Jim, who is now retired and living in Waterloo.

Kelly Sullivan said that family members and those close to Katherine McFarland will hold a celebration of her life at the Sullivan Brothers Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1623 at 1406 Commercial Street in Waterloo, a fitting tribute for a legacy that resonates throughout our region.

Pat Kinney’s January 2, 2016 article on Katherine McFarland’s passing:

http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/sullivan-brother-s-widow-dies-at-age/article_7b3fa305-0e38-57c1-ad49-a7effe8a4555.html