Thomas N. (Sully) Sullivan, died at his home with his wife Linda by his side on July 26, after a brief bout with brain cancer.

Sully was born in 1951, in Cambridge, to William and Kathleen Sullivan, the youngest of three children.

After the early death of Sully’s mother and older brother William, Bill Goldsmith, a concerned teacher, stepped in to act as the two surviving siblings’ guardian, and remained a part of their lives until his death.“Goldie” ushered these two kids from East Cambridge to great opportunities.

Sully attended the progressive Cambridge School of Weston high school and even a bit of Brandeis University until he blazed his own trail to hands-on education for house building and design. He spent his early years exploring communal living and farmsteading in various locations in Massachusetts. He studied passive solar design and energy solutions.

Sully arrived on Martha’s Vineyard in 1976 with his close friend, Mark Hurwitz, to build a house for Bill Goldsmith and never left. In the early 1980s, he built his own passive solar house. At the time, he had partnered with his friend, Jay Walsh, to sell solar hot-water heaters. His own still works after 35 years on his roof.

He was involved with the construction of Anna Edey’s Solviva greenhouse and with the conversion of an antique barn into the Bodhi Path Meditation Hall. He also built houses on his own or with the Hurwitz crew.

Sully was part of the Energy Resource Group from 1979 to 1981 and served on the Martha’s Vineyard Commission for eight years in the 1990s. He believed in speaking up for his principles. He had immense curiosity and was always learning, was concerned with energy use and the health of the planet, its peoples and creatures.

He was a walking Wikipedia, from world political history to ancient civilization, to the names of all the band members in the music of decades past. He was frequently humming and singing in a sonorous voice — he loved a wide variety of music.

Sully found yoga, meditation and a spiritual lifestyle as a healing modality to his early losses and continued to integrate these into his life to the end. He took great enjoyment in the simple pleasures of the seasons unfolding and the company of his friends. He had a gentle demeanor and a dry Celtic wit.

He is predeceased by his mother, Kathleen, brother William, and his father, William.

He is survived by his wife, Linda Ziegler; sister, Gail; and a niece and nephew. A celebration of his life is planned in the fall.