Lydia (Todosischuk) Sullivan

Lydia Sullivan was born Ida Todosischuk on January 26, 1936, in Luyen, Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union, she was the daughter of Nikolai and Rosalia (Steinke) Todosischuk. She died August 29, 2026, at Blair Ridge Health Campus in Peru, Indiana.

Lydia’s earliest years unfolded against the violence and upheaval of World War II. The war caused her family to scatter.  She never knew what happened to some members.  Others were caught behind the Iron Curtain.  She, with her mother, her grandmother Berta, and her brother Alex were able to escape to the West.  They came to America in 1949 as stateless war refugees. For Lydia, the United States represented more than a place of refuge.  It was her home.

She married Fred Grant in Peru, Indiana, on October 2, 1955. They had five children: Jeffery Allen Grant, Jeanette Sue Grant, Shari Lynn Grant, Ramona Kay Grant and Annette Marie Grant.

On March 27, 1970, she married Max Sullivan in Sylmar, California. They had three children: Stephen James Sullivan, Samantha Jane Sullivan and Joyce Eileen Sullivan.

Although war and displacement had deprived her of a consistent formal education in her youth, Lydia would earn her General Educational Development diploma as an adult, and then continued into higher education, ultimately earning multiple degrees in electrical engineering and computer science. She went on to become a systems engineer with EDS in Kokomo, Indiana. She remained at the company into her early 70s.

Lydia was a faithful, longtime member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Over several decades, she served in numerous responsibilities, including as a Relief Society president, a temple worker and a Sunday School teacher.

She was particularly devoted to family history, a calling that joined her love of family, languages, history and meticulous work. As a family history consultant for the church, she personally indexed hundreds of thousands of genealogical records. Drawing on her knowledge of German, Ukrainian, Russian and Polish, she helped translate records so that names and histories once buried in archives could be electronically searched by English-speaking descendants. Through that work, she helped families separated by borders, wars and generations rediscover one another.

She also enthusiastically supported local missionaries. They knew they could rely on her for encouragement, practical help and, very often, a hot meal.

Her commitment to preparedness was rooted not in abstract fears but in lived experience. Lydia strongly advocated keeping a supply of food and household essentials sufficient to carry a family through difficult times. She credited her family’s survival during the war in part to her grandmother Berta, who quietly hid and stored food whenever she could.

Lydia was not primarily concerned with dramatic predictions about the end of the world. She was concerned with the ordinary emergencies that could suddenly become overwhelming: the loss of a job, an empty bank account, an illness, a winter storm or a house full of hungry children. During periods of her adult life when employment was difficult to find and money was scarce, her pantry remained full. Whatever else was uncertain, she made sure her family had enough to eat.

Her religious faith taught that family relationships could endure beyond death, a doctrine that held special meaning for a woman whose childhood had been marked by separation, migration and loss. She stood strong in the faith that Families Can Be Together Forever.

Above all else, Lydia was devoted to her family. She had eight children, dozens of grandchildren, an even larger number of great-grandchildren and, near the end of her life, she experienced the joy of meeting her first great-great-grandson. Her understanding of family extended beyond biology. Among those she considered her grandchildren were many connected to her not by blood but by affection, loyalty and shared life. She loved them no less completely.

In her final days, she was surrounded by the family she had spent her life nurturing. All of her children were able to return home to say goodbye, as were many of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Even then, her concern remained focused on them. She spoke often of how much she loved them and wanted reassurance that they would be all right.

Lydia was preceded in death by her daughter, Joyce (Sullivan) Davidson; her sister, Olga; and her great-grandson, Chandler Richardson.

She is survived by seven children: Jeffery (Linda) Grant, Jeanette (Terry) Fruehling, Shari (Robert) Harris, Ramona (Brian) Stotler, Annette (John) Thiel, Stephen Sullivan and Samantha Sullivan; as well as her many grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandson.

Visitation and funeral services will be held at Flowers-Leedy & Allen Funeral Home, 105 West Third Street, Peru, Indiana on Saturday, September 5, 2026. Visitation/viewing beginning at 10 AM to noon with funeral services immediately following at noon. Bishop Mark Larsen will be officiating.

Lydia will be interred at Mount Hope Cemetery in Peru, Indiana, near her beloved grandmother Berta.

Her life began amid war with governments that assigned worth according to ancestry and treated human beings as disposable. She spent the rest of her life affirming the opposite: that every person mattered, that history should be preserved, that families could be created as well as inherited and that there should always be enough food — and enough love — for one more person at the table.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Flowers-Leedy Funeral Home. Family and friends may sign the online guestbook at www.FlowersLeedyAllen.com.

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