Women of the Year: Marlene Sullivan takes behind-the-scenes roles that help others shine

For Thanksgiving, Marlene “Murphy” Sullivan asked a group of friends to cook portions of a turkey dinner to feed 70 residents at Hope House.

She tapped about 15 women to prepare the food ahead, including at the Vinegar Flats residence that Sullivan shares with her mother, to deliver it all to the Spokane emergency shelter for homeless single women.

On another day, military veterans can find Sullivan drawing soothing tones from crystal sound bowls for an outpatient meditation session at the Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center. It’s another example of the many volunteer roles Sullivan quietly takes on to help others shine or give people a boost, said the Rev. Bonnie Barnard.

“She sees herself as being a behind-the-scenes cheerleader,” Barnard said. “When someone has a vision or there’s an idea that resonates with her, she volunteers, and she’s all in. She makes things happen.”

Sullivan, known as Murphy to her friends, has done so on multiple fronts. At 61, she’s a chaplain, veteran, two-time cancer survivor, master of ceremonies for the Women’s March and organizer of a monthly craft party for friends.

One of this year’s Women of the Year, Sullivan taught herself to use the hand-held mallets to draw tones from the crystal bowls for “sound healing.” Laughing, she said it was mainly by watching YouTube videos. But the weekly sessions help the veterans.

“The sound bowls are aligned to the energy systems in our body; the sounds help us get into balance, center and quiet down,” Sullivan said.

“They’re tuned to our body’s energy centers. It’s really a magical process. They also align with the endocrine system – our hormonal system. It corresponds to our physical body, then there is the spiritual aspect.”

At the VA center, she talks with veterans at weekly coffee sessions, always willing to help or listen, said Rich Baker, a VA social service assistant. She does administrative tasks there on another day.

“She’s so passionate about one, veterans, but also about making sure people have a positive experience,” he said. “She goes above and beyond on a regular basis.”

Sullivan’s story is woven into being a longtime member and chaplain at Unity Spiritual Center on the South Hill – and more recently – at Spiritual Center Spokane, started by Barnard.

“Being a chaplain is a big part of what I do, offering prayer, connections, hospital visits.”

From 2018-21, Sullivan helped the Rev. Dennis Ashley at the Church of Truth in Coeur d’Alene by taking administrative and planning roles. The congregation grew from six members to around 75 when it merged into a Unity Center there, and Sullivan returned to her Spokane church.

“What she wants to do is help other people shine,” Ashley said. “That’s what she did for me. And the church, it grew.”

Sullivan said backing up such leaders as Ashley and Barnard is a natural fit for her.

“I think it’s my lot in life,” Sullivan said. “I don’t need to be in the limelight.

“Bonnie and Dennis are beautiful human beings. Whatever I can do to help them, I do it, and let them do their thing.”

Sullivan also offers to be a go-to helper for a local entertainment group called the Divas, with seven women singing different genres of music. She has done tasks from gluing on costume sequins to offering rides.

“Murphy shows up as one of those people who is there for other people; it’s never about her,” said Gaye Ribble, one of the Divas and the group’s director.

There are other layers to Sullivan’s life, as well: a photography hobby, crafts, travel and backing up causes.

“I am a lesbian, so I’m involved in women’s rights and am a gay rights advocate,” she added.

At the annual Women’s March, Sullivan has served as emcee for three years.

“I ran it last year. My job as emcee was to introduce the speakers, to work with the team on creating this beautiful event – all the planning – I’m good at that stuff. That’s my forte.

Sullivan grew up in Hamilton, Montana. She came to Spokane on a Whitworth University basketball full-ride scholarship.

She didn’t finish at Whitworth, eventually joining the Navy for six years. Living on the East Coast, she became a massage therapist in Virginia Beach, Virginia. She co-owned a salon and did facials, massages and waxing.

In 1996, Spokane drew her back as a place where her mom and friends live.

“I was self-employed my whole career, 23 years,” added Sullivan, who retired from massage therapy in 2015.

She co-owned a Browne’s Addition apartment building with mother Angie Sullivan. They sold it to buy their current home and moved there in 2022. Her mom, 88, had cancer recently, followed by a bad fall. Sullivan stepped in as caregiver, but her mother has since rebounded, she said.

Sullivan has had her own cancer battles, first as Stage 3 breast cancer in 2007 when she had a double mastectomy and chemotherapy. The disease returned as Stage 4 in July 2020. A tumor hooked around a pectoral muscle, she said.

“They said, ‘It’s in your lymphatic system, inoperative,’ like you’re going to die,” Sullivan said.

She decided to travel to the Health Institute of Tijuana to do what’s called the Gerson Protocol. She said it requires a specific organic diet that’s heavy on drinking juices from certain vegetables and Granny Smith apples.

Sullivan continued the diet at home. After a checkup confirmed the tumor had shrunk, she had it removed, then did radiation treatment in early 2023.

“I juiced for a good two years, and my cancer disappeared,” she said. “I had the CT scans when it just lit up, and six months later it’s gone. I’m like, are you sure you put the contrast in?”

She had agreed to radiation but refused chemotherapy.

“I’m all about quality of life versus quantity, at this point. I want to be happy, live life and do all I can in the time I have with my life.”

For her 60th birthday, she traveled to England and Ireland.

Sullivan finished her advanced education late in life. At 50, she got a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from Eastern Washington University, then a master’s in transpersonal psychology at Atlantic University.

Among all she’s done, Sullivan lists one project near the top: She and Ashley designed business cards that she continues to give to people everywhere she goes.

The cards say “You are unique. You are important to the world. Thank you for being who you are.”

“I remember Dennis and I making them,” she said. “It feels good to get this card. It’s just to make the world a better place.”