| ||||||||||
 
Dr. Ronald P. Rogers CHIROPRACTOR Support for your body's natural healing capabilities 270-384-5554 Click here for details 
  
Columbia Gas Dept. GAS LEAK or GAS SMELL Contact Numbers 24 hrs/ 365 days 270-384-2006 or 9-1-1 Call before you dig 
Visit ColumbiaMagazine's Directory of Churches Addresses, times, phone numbers and more for churches in Adair County Find Great Stuff in ColumbiaMagazine's Classified Ads Antiques, Help Wanted, Autos, Real Estate, Legal Notices, More... 
|
Carol Perkins: Memories of Uncle Rollin (Oscar) Sullivan . . . In an ironic twist, his doctor, not knowing about Oscar's death, called his daughter on the morning of the funeral with the test results of what had been causing such weakness. 'He has a rare and aggressive form of leukemia.' When she told about the conversation, all I could think was, 'Not any more. He doesn't have it anymore'. . . . On his closed coffin was a lovely flower arrangement with his mandolin on one side and his well-worn Bible on the other. - Carol Perkins A reflection on the life of her relative - a Great Metcalfe Countian and a great American, 'Oscar,' of 'Lonzo & Oscar,' the last surviving son of an enormously talented Metcalfe County family, the children of the late Jim and Ethel Sullivan of Cedar Flat, Metcalfe County, KY. He was the uncle of Carol Perkins, regular Sunday contributor to ColumbiaMagazine.com. An extraordinarily beautiful tribute. -Ed Waggener By Carol Sullivan Perkins  Please allow me the next few minutes to reflect on the life and recent death of my uncle, Rollin "Oscar" Sullivan who died last Friday at the age of 93. Of the eleven children born to Jim and Ethel Sullivan, Rollin was the only living sibling.Many of you will recall Saturday nights in front of the radio or TV, waiting for the Grand Ole Opry and perhaps for the comedy team of Lonzo and Oscar, both of whom were my father's brothers and grew up in the Cedar Flat community of Metcalfe County. Although a comedy team with "I'm My Own Grandpa" selling four million records in the 50's, they were both very serious musicians. Oscar played a mean mandolin and Johnny's specialty was the guitar, but like all the Sullivan boys, they could play wind instruments, too. Having played all over the world, I once asked Oscar if he knew Patsy Cline. "Sure, that girl had talent." I learned at his funeral that Pasty had lived with him and his family when she was first getting started. He carried a treasure of memories of country music legends. Actually, we had once discussed writing a book with his memories of the likes of Ernest Tubb, Eddie Arnold, and many others, but we just never began. I thought there would always be another day. About a year ago, I visited him and videoed our conversation in the studio he had created in his basement-at the age of ninety-one! He guided me through each station and explained the rudiments of music, the sounds he could produce, and a hundred other concepts of which I was clueless. Inspired to help young singers, he taught singing lessons. "What do you do when you have a student who just can't sing?" I asked, knowing that some people think they can but can't. "I suggest they might think about something else to do!" and then he let loose with that infectious laugh he used on stage and off. I wonder what will happen to that studio now? As he told me during the interview, his life had had many tragedies that could have stopped him, but he kept going. In 1959, while on tour in Wyoming, a drunk driver hit his car, killing his wife and his youngest brother Phil, an up and coming county music singer. Oscar was hospitalized for five months, leaving his sixteen-year-old daughter to handle arrangements for her mother's funeral. Then in 1967, Lonzo died of a heart attack. "I didn't think I could go on; I was in shock." He did go on, but it took quite a while. After interviewing many performers, he hired a new Lonzo and they played together until 1985 when Oscar retired from the Grand Ole Opry. Together, Johnny and Rollin were unsurpassed in their fame as a comedy team. One without the other was not the same. There could not have been a replacement for Dean or Jerry, Roland or Martin, George or Gracie and there was no replacement, in my mind, for Johnny. Seeing someone else beside Oscar was sad. The last great loss happened this spring with the death of his wife of fifty years Geneva. "I don't know why I am still here at my age, but I just have a feeling God means for me to do something else." That is the outlook he had on life. He rose every morning with a plan. I now wonder if he discovered what he was meant to do? In an ironic twist, his doctor, not knowing about Oscar's death, called his daughter on the morning of the funeral with the test results of what had been causing such weakness. "He has a rare and aggressive form of leukemia." When she told about the conversation, all I could think was, "Not any more. He doesn't have it anymore." On his closed coffin was a lovely flower arrangement with his mandolin on one side and his well-worn Bible on the other. - Carol Perkins Rollin (Oscar) Sullivan, Metcalfe Co., KY (d. Sept. 7, 2012) This story was posted on 2012-09-16 07:33:34
Printable: this page is now automatically formatted for printing.
Have comments or corrections for this story? Use our contact form and let us know.
More articles from topic Carol Perkins:
Carol Perkins: Neil Armstrong, a true American Carol Perkins: A week for Tv if you're interested in politics Carol Perkins the movie critic: Hope Springs a must see Carol Perkins report on how Yard Sale is going Carol Perkins: Chicken supper, literally Carol Perkins: Wrinkles no more Carol Perkins: Yard Sales Carol Perkins: A Golfing Tale Carol Perkins: OOPs. Carol Perkins: Just a Little Something View even more articles in topic Carol Perkins |
 
115 Jamestown St. Columbia, KY. 270-384-2496 
  
   
 Provided by the Adair Co Fiscal Court and the Adair Co. Emergency Mgt. Agency 
|
||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
|
Quick Links to Popular Features
Looking for a story or picture? Try our Photo Archive or our Stories Archive for all the information that's appeared on ColumbiaMagazine.com. | ||||||||||
|
Contact us: Columbia Magazine and columbiamagazine.com are published by Linda Waggener and Pen Waggener, PO Box 906, Columbia, KY 42728. Please use our contact page, or send questions about technical issues with this site to webmaster@columbiamagazine.com. All logos and trademarks used on this site are property of their respective owners. All comments remain the property and responsibility of their posters, all articles and photos remain the property of their creators, and all the rest is copyright 1995-Present by Columbia Magazine. Privacy policy: use of this site requires no sharing of information. Voluntarily shared information may be published and made available to the public on this site and/or stored electronically. Anonymous submissions will be subject to additional verification. Cookies are not required to use our site. However, if you have cookies enabled in your web browser, some of our advertisers may use cookies for interest-based advertising across multiple domains. For more information about third-party advertising, visit the NAI web privacy site.
| ||||||||||
