Sullivan Brothers Set to Close Iconic Funeral Home

The 92-year-old family-owned Sullivan's Funeral Home will soon close, after the next generation decided they didn't want to go into the dying business.

Sometime before June 1, brothers James and Arthur Sullivan - the third generation - will turn the keys to 2254 Market Street over to the Prado Group, which is building a mixed-use development with 45 apartments, underground parking, and retail space.

"It has been a tremendous honor to serve the neighborhood," said James Sullivan, 73, who took over the business with his brother Arthur, 76, when their father died suddenly. "But our children all have their own careers and busy lives, so we decided the time was right" to sell the property.

"We have really enjoyed being in this beautiful neighborhood," added Arthur Sullivan.

The brothers are to be honored Thursday (March 3) with a presentation on behalf of the citizens of San Francisco presented by the Castro Merchants business group and gay District 8 Supervisor Scott Wiener.

"Sullivan's is one of our neighborhood's anchor institutions and has played a significant role in our community's history. As a neighbor and as a member of the Board of Supervisors, I want to honor Sullivan's and thank the family for its long service to our residents and to so many families who lost loved ones during the worst of the epidemic," Wiener said in an email, referring to the years of the AIDS crisis.

Next door neighbor Brittney Beck, whose grandfather founded Beck's Motor Lodge, said, "The Sullivans will really be missed. They have been wonderful neighbors."

In a telephone interview with the Bay Area Reporter , Beck, who owns the motel, said she "loved the story" her father told about the day he was on a tall ladder in front of the motel, making a repair. "Jim Sullivan came along and said, 'Hey, be careful up there or you're going to need our services,'" Beck said.

The Market Street funeral home was built by the Sullivans' grandfather, Arthur P. Sullivan, in 1924 and expanded in the 1940s. James and Arthur Sullivan took over in 1970.

Arthur Sullivan had started in the business 10 years earlier, at first washing cars and vacuuming while he was still in school. James Sullivan had gone to college and after he returned from the military, "I visited the family business one day ... and never left," he said.

Both graduated from a two-year mortuary college and completed a two-year apprenticeship under their father's supervision. Once they took over the business, the brothers said they each had different strengths and interests.

James Sullivan, the more gregarious of the two, handled most of the work with the bereaved who were planning the funeral. Arthur Sullivan usually prepared the remains for the funeral service, which involves "embalming, cosmetizing, and dressing" the remains, he said.

"I was good at it," Arthur Sullivan said, "because I was taught by an expert, my father."

The business grew as an increasing number of their competitors went out of business, explained James Sullivan. When they took over, there were 43 funeral homes in San Francisco, he said. Now there are eight.

Business at Sullivan's has been steady over the years, said James Sullivan. At its peak, the company was doing 250 funerals a month. Now they are doing about 10 percent fewer, he said.

One of the major changes in the business has been the increasing popularity of cremations.

"When we began, they were rare," said James Sullivan. Now cremations account for almost half their business.

One thing that hasn't changed, he said, is that people have always "price shopped" for funeral services.

"I don't blame them a bit," James Sullivan said. "Like everything else, the cost of funerals has increased over the years."

During the height of the AIDS epidemic, there were rumors that some funeral homes would not accept patients who died of HIV-related illnesses, said Arthur Sullivan.

"But I don't think that was really true," said James Sullivan. "What we do know is that of course we welcomed anyone who needed our services."

The Sullivans said that another brother, a gay man, died of AIDS-related complications in 1985.

Ten years ago, Arthur Sullivan retired and James Sullivan added staff and continued to run the business himself.

But seven years ago, James Sullivan had triple bypass surgery after a heart attack and decided it was time to "slow down." He approached a handful of his competitors about acquiring the business, settling on Duggan's Serra Mortuary in Daly City, which agreed to allow him to manage the business.

At the same time, James Sullivan listed the property for sale, a process that took six years to complete.

"We wanted to wait for the right price," he said.

Although the Sullivans declined to reveal the sales price for the property, the website LoopNet indicates that it was offered for $8.5 million and was on the market for 1,709 days and is currently in escrow.

When Sullivan's closes at the end of the month, James Sullivan will continue to work part time at Duggan's.

"My wife is happy to have me leave the house every morning," he noted.