Mary Lou B. Sullivan

Published 2:43 pm Wednesday, May 21, 2025

HARRELLSVILLE – Mrs. Mary Lou Baker Sullivan, age 86, passed away on Sunday, May 18, 2025 at the Harnett Woods Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Dunn, NC. Born in Bertie County to Mavin Earnest Baker and Ruth Merelynn Waters Baker on July 2, 1938, Mary Lou was a light for all who knew her.

A memorial service will be conducted on Saturday, May 31, 2025, at 1 p.m. at the Harrellsville Baptist Church, 206 E Main St, Harrellsville, NC 27942 with Rev. Jeff Crabtree officiating. The family will receive friends following the service in the fellowship hall.

Her dedication to learning was evident through her pursuit of higher education. She was a graduate of Harrellsville High School and Chowan College. After school, she married and spent twenty years raising a family while moving around the country and world as a military spouse. In 1978, she came back to Harrellsville and settled on her beloved Chowan River. She worked for Roanoke Chowan Health and Human Services for more than 30 years. She cherished her friends, family, and community above all.

A lifelong lover of music, Mary Lou found great joy in playing the piano, a passion she shared generously with those around her. She lent her musical talents to the Harrellsville Baptist Church, where she was not only a devoted member but also actively involved in the Women’s Missionary Union (WMU).

Mary Lou was an amazing cook and took great pride in being the “head yeast roll maker,” a title that reflected both her skill in the kitchen and the care she infused into her creations. Mary Lou was an avid reader, a lover of sudoku puzzles and word games, and an amazing crocheter. Anyone who was lucky enough to taste her cooking, sit under one of her beautiful afghans, hear one of her stories, or listen to her play the piano was a lucky person indeed. She will be dearly missed for all of the joy that she brought into this world.

In addition to her parents, Mary Lou was preceded in death by her son, Barry Earley and her husband, Maurice Allen Sullivan.

Mary Lou is survived by a daughter, Beth Earley and husband Rich Voss of Winder, Georgia; a son, Brian Earley and wife Sherry of Angier, NC; daughter in law, Brenda Earley of Virginia Beach, Virginia; five grandchildren, Hunter Earley and wife Elizabeth, Payton Earley, Georgia Earley, John Michael McDowell, and Christopher McDowell; and three great grandchildren, Ivy Edwards, Barrett Earley, and Evie Earley; a step-daughter, Kelly Bucco and husband Clint of Odenton, Maryland; four step-grandchildren, Rachel, Allison, Clint, Jr. and Connor. Also surviving are sisters, Gloria Baker and Deborah Baker, and sisters-in-law, Kay S. Vinson and husband Woody of Hampstead, NC, and Mary Rose S. Doyle and husband Howard of Zebulon, NC.

Memorial contributions may be made directly to the Harrellsville Baptist Church, P.O. Box 5, Harrellsville, NC 27942 or online by visiting tmcfunding.com/ search fund, type-Mary Lou Sullivan

Garrett-Sykes Funeral Service – Ahoskie Chapel is handling the arrangements for the Baker Earley Sullivan family and online condolences can be directed to the family by visiting www.garrettsykesfs.com.