Raymond Dale "Ricky" Sullivan

March 20, 1950 - January 25, 2021

Raymond Dale “Ricky” Sullivan, 70, passed away January 25, 2021 at River Oaks. Visitation will be 10am-11:30am Wednesday at Stringer Family Funeral Home in Crystal Springs. A graveside service will be 3pm Wednesday at New Sardis Baptist Church Cemetery, Mt. Olive, MS. Stringer Family Funeral Home in Crystal Springs is handling arrangements. Mr. Sullivan began service in the U. S. Army on October 8, 1969. He went through training at Fort Polk, Louisiana, Fort Sill, Oklahoma, Fort Benning, Georgia (Airborne Training), Fort Lee, Virginia (Parachute Training), and Fort Devens, Massachusetts (assigned to 5th Special Forces Unit). He received orders in late 1970 and left January 1971 for Vietnam. While in Vietnam he was stationed at Cam Ranh Bay, Da Nang, and Saigon (now known as Ho Chi Minh City). Mr. Sullivan trained as “Rigger”, packing parachutes and assembling rigging for helicopter sling loads. He spent three months at the DMZ, sleeping in holes in the ground. He came home in October 1971, flying into a base in Washington state and then on to Jackson, Mississippi and was discharged. He spent the next four years on inactive duty. Mr. Sullivan loved to fish and hunt especially with his grandson. He enjoyed spending time outdoors with his kids, adventures in the woods with his grandson, and having crawfish boils. He is survived by his wife, Melody Sullivan; sons, Justin Sullivan (Shelby) and Wesley Sullivan (Danielle); daughter, Kelly Stephens (Mike Graham); brothers, Van Sullivan, Jr., Vernon Sullivan, Jimmy Sullivan, and Freddie Sullivan; sisters, Chris Gaspard, Evelyn Smith, Bobby Nell McKamy, and Dot Roberts; and grandchildren, Zachary Stephens, Malakai Sullivan, Amiya Sullivan, Nora Sullivan, Walker Sullivan, and Ryan Graham