Dorchester resident Anne Sullivan celebrated her 100th birthday on March 23. One of three children born to Irish immigrants from Co. Mayo, Ireland, she was raised in Beacon Hill and Hamilton, Mass. where her father worked as a chauffeur. She attended Girls’ High School in Boston’s South End and later volunteered to care for servicemen at the Chelsea Naval Hospital during the Second World War.

It was there that she met her future husband, Charlestown native Thomas Sullivan, before he returned to duty on the USS Elizabeth Stanton.

Once married, the couple bought a three-decker on Fuller Street for $28,000, according to her daughter Linda Sullivan, one of six kids born to Anne and Thomas, a retired Boston Police Officer, who died at age 71.

Mrs. Sullivan worked at the Dorchester YMCA and served as Girl Scout troop leader.

“The Fuller street house was often filled with friends or cousins sleeping over for school vacations. We have lots of happy memories from that house,” says Linda.

Later, Mrs. Sullivan worked as a benefits coordinator at Labouré College. She retired at age 86, but has stayed very active in the neighborhood, often walking along Dorchester Avenue in Lower Mills and Ashmont on her daily errands, with an occasional excursion on the Red Line.

“My mother continues to be the matriarch of the family with eight grandchildren and four great grandchildren,” says Linda. “An avid reader of fiction, she trades books with her daughters and grandchildren. She also keeps busy with her bills, her donations, her crossword puzzles, and a few Kent cigarettes a day.”

She adds: “My sisters and I and our families are so grateful to have our beautiful mother with us. We are so fortunate to have her in our lives. So, if you see that little lady with the white hair, and black coat pulling a plaid shopping cart on Dot Ave., don’t forget to say hello.”