Molly Sullivan, a local teacher of Latin for many years, died on Friday, July 14 at the Princeton Care Center in Princeton. She was 84.

Born in Abilene, Texas on April 27, 1939, she will be remembered for her wit, her rebellious and mischievous spirit, and her love of music and cats.

Molly took up violin from an early age and played in her high school orchestra, where she excelled in Latin, was a member of the classics club, and was a cheerleader. After graduating from San Angelo High School, she attended San Angelo College where she earned her bachelor’s degree and started teaching Latin at the high school level. As a teacher, she was known for her quirky and distinctive teaching style, however, she underestimated the popular rejection of the theory of evolution (this was West Texas in the 1950s) which led her to move on from this job to graduate school at the University of Texas Austin.

There she met and married Henry Wood in 1964, moved with him to Rochester and Brooklyn, New York, then to Princeton. Together they had four boys. After Henry passed away in 1979, Molly married Carl Faith, who turned out to be the love of her life. They loved traveling and spent many summers (and winters and falls) in Barcelona.

Molly taught Latin for many years at Steinert, Hamilton, Rutgers Prep, Flemington, and Ewing high schools. Her love of the language continued after her retirement with her participation in a Latin translation group, taking on the translation of previously untranslated classics, and translating English works into Latin. She was a long-time member of a local reading orchestra, and in retirement tutored young children in reading in the Grand Pals program.

Molly was a long-time dancer. For decades she studied dance in many styles: Flamenco, belly dancing, and ballet, as well as practicing yoga and aerobics. In retirement, she drove friends to exercise classes.

Left to honor Molly and remember her love are her four children, Zeno (Jill Dowling) Wood, Japheth (Mariel Fiori) Wood, Malachi (Jhilam Iqbal) Wood, and Ezra (Simi Hoque) Wood; and her 10 grandchildren Indrid Griffin Wood, Leila Rae Yorek Sundin, Tarquin Wood, Maya Wood, Doria Iqbal Sharif, Daphne Wood-Fiori, Lihuel Wood-Fiori, Vesper Woodhoque, Esme Woodhoque, and Quinn Woodhoque. Molly was predeceased by her husband Carl Clifton Faith and her parents Denny and Dorothy Sullivan. She had many many cats over the years, among them Gray Cat, Black Cat, Chichen Itza, Rambam, Avicenna, Ms. Moo, Puddin, Kit Lee, and Tiger and Mischief.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Sunday, Sept, 3 at the Kimble Funeral Home, 1 Hamilton Avenue, Princeton, NJ 08542. There will be a gathering for guests from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. with speakers beginning at 11 a.m. Afterward, attendees and other friends and family are invited to a reception at 199 Longview Drive.

The family would like to extend its gratitude to all the kind and caring staff at the Princeton Care Center and Ennoble Care Hospice.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions be made to Planned Parenthood or the ACLU in Molly Sullivan’s name.