Susan Glover Sullivan, an islander known for her years of community activism, died last week at age 70.

Sullivan, who died on Monday, Jan. 9, after a battle with cancer, was known on Vashon as an avid volunteer and Vashon Allied Arts (VAA) board member, and for starting the Vashon Road Crew, a popular walking group that raises money for local charities. Friends and family describe Sullivan as a sharp, energetic woman who couldn’t sit still in her retirement and was constantly looking for opportunities to help others.

“She was a very generous person with her time, and so affirmative and positive, upbeat, and an extraordinary human being,” said Molly Reed, executive director of VAA.

Sullivan was born on Jan. 19, 1945, in North Carolina. She had a career as a biochemist specializing in nuclear magnetic resonance, first at the University of California Riverside and then at the University of Washington.

She met her husband Pat  Sullivan 30 years ago on the ferry to Bainbridge Island, where they both lived at the time. After they retired, the two built a house on Vashon in 2000.

Sullivan threw herself into civic activities soon after moving to the island, her husband said. She volunteered for Vashon Community Care, where she served meals and was involved in the annual Labor of Love auction. She was on the board of Vashon’s Unitarian church, helped serve the daily dinners offered at local churches and delivered meals to the homebound as a food bank volunteer.

Sullivan was also an avid walker, and in 2003 she co-authored the first version of the guide “Walks, Trails and Parks on Vashon” with islander John Gerstle. She helped update it over the years — the most recent edition was in 2011. Around that same time, she started a math tutoring program at Vashon High School, recruiting her math-minded friends to volunteer for it.

At VAA, Sullivan was a board member for several years, helped organize events and fundraisers and started the art archive sale. Her friend and fellow board member Ann O’Leary said Sullivan had a clear passion for art and the walls of her home were adorned with works by local artists.

“When she joined (something), she gave it her all and was very engaged,” O’Leary said. “She touched the island.”

Among Sullivan’s many activities, one of her proudest accomplishments, her husband said, was starting a local walking group with her friend Susan Haworth in 2001. The Vashon Road Crew, which at one point included 50 women, still does regular walks around the island in an effort to stay fit, and over the years members have pooled their money to donate thousands of dollars to local causes. Members of the walking group formed tight bonds and walked together in marathons and half marathons. They also took walking trips to places such as Italy, Spain and Greece.

“She was not someone who sat there,” Haworth said, “She lived life out loud. … She had this amazing reserve of energy, and I don’t know where it came from.”

Sullivan was already planning a walk with the group this fall in Provence, France, when she learned that the cancer she first developed about four years ago, multiple myeloma, had returned. A website Sullivan’s family created to keep friends updated on her condition drew dozens of comments from people expressing their thoughts and thanks for Sullivan and ultimately support for her decision to die on her own terms. She took a trip to Paris with her daughter just a few weeks before she died at home surrounded by family. She is survived by her husband, five children and six grandchildren.

“I just didn’t even sense any fear,” Haworth said. “She led her life that way, without a lot of fear. She just did things; she was a doer.”