role was originally written after writer Barry Morrow met savant Kim Peek. Other sources for the character of Raymond include Bill Sackter and Mark Rimland, son of Bernard Rimland. Personal life Sullivan was trained as a Registered nurse at Charity Hospital (New Orleans). She served in the United States Army Nurse Corps during World War II afterwards became a public health nurse. She later earned a B.S. in Public Health Nursing and in 1952 an M.A. in Public Health Administration, from Teachers College, Columbia University. She had seven children, and was a Kentucky Colonel. She received a PhD from Ohio University in 1984. She died in Huntington, West Virginia, on September 16, 2021, at the age of 97. References External links 1924 births 2021 deaths American health activists Autism activists Marshall University people Activists from West Virginia People from Huntington, West Virginia Activists from Louisiana People from Acadia Parish, Louisiana Ohio University alumni Teachers College, Columbia University alumni Nurses from West Virginia United States Army Nurse Corps officers 21st-century American women American women nurses