Inspirational and courageous Christchurch teacher mourned after dying in her sleep

The week has started in tragedy for a South Island school after a teacher died alone at his home in Christchurch.

Shirley Boys high school teacher Jarrod O’Sullivan was found dead Saturday afternoon. It is believed that he was there for several days before he was found.

He was a man with a hilarious and unconventional sense of humor, who had been dealt with a tougher hand than most people could handle, says a close relative.

O’Sullivan’s uncle, Mike Minehan, last spoke with him Sunday and said there were no signs anything was wrong.

“It was an hour of sharing funny anecdotes,” Minehan said.

“He had a hilarious and unconventional sense of humor. In my opinion, he had guts. I really looked up to him.”

O’Sullivan moved to Queensland as a child and as an adult he worked for the state police.

In 1991, an early morning high-speed chase ended in devastation, when the vehicle O’Sullivan was riding rolled around a corner, knocking him out of the car into the water.

“He almost drowned. They dragged him out because he was paralyzed,” Minehan said.

“They handed him a deck of cards that was harder to bear than most people. They told him he would never walk again, and he did. He was determined too.”

The injury left him in pain, even decades later, and he used the support of crutches, Minehan said.

O’Sullivan wasn’t satisfied with the desk job assigned to him at the police call center and moved to Korea to teach English.

“[Korea] it was an important part of his life. I don’t know why you chose Korea. He loved Korea and the Koreans loved him. “

O’Sullivan also planned a move home and a career change.

He studied a double degree at the University of Canterbury before becoming a teacher of Mathematics and ICT at Shirley Boys’ High School.

“He changed his life with a new career. He had guts and I respected him for that. Not just standing up, that was hard enough, but for him to go to college on his own and successfully get a degree and create. a new career, that was really inspiring. “

Minehan said he would miss his phone calls with O’Sullivan.

“We couldn’t have a phone conversation in less than an hour. Apart from being my nephew, I would describe him as a close friend.”

O’Sullivan had trouble sleeping in the days leading up to his death and was using sleeping pills to little effect, Minehan said.

“His sleep patterns were quite irregular. Living alone was difficult. Dying in his sleep is also a mystery.”

The doctor who was called to the scene to certify O’Sullivan’s death estimated that he had died earlier in the week.

“We assumed it happened on Tuesday.”

O’Sullivan spoke with Minehan last Sunday and also spoke with his 80-year-old father on Monday of last week.

Minehan said the father was unable to travel to New Zealand for the funeral due to Covid-19 restrictions.

O’Sullivan recently received two medals for his time in the police force; one from the Queensland Police and the Australian Police Service Medal.

He was really proud of the awards, Minehan said.

“Australia’s can only be awarded for exceptional service and duty. It’s good that it was recognized for that.”

Shirley Boys’ High School principal Tim Grocott said O’Sullivan was a likeable man with a quirky side who was always happy to tell a joke.

Grocott said O’Sullivan, who had taught at the school for more than a decade, was due to travel to Australia earlier in the year to attend his father’s birthday and accept the police medals, but Covid-19 canceled the plans.

The medals were eventually sent to him and he brought them to school to show to staff.

He was an avid reader and often brought books for others to read, Grocott said.

“Jack Reacher kind of books.

“He would talk to the kids about things you probably wouldn’t expect, not in a bad way. He had great knowledge. He had something real for East Asia. He liked the military and he would tell us stories about being in the police force. Some of our boys They really committed to that and they loved hearing those kinds of war stories. “

O’Sullivan had been ill for five weeks and was out of school, Grocott says.

“It is a hard blow for the community and for the school and a very sad way for someone to pass away, to be alone at home, not surrounded by family or anything like that.

“That’s the really disturbing and distressing part.”

A police spokesman said they witnessed a sudden death in Hillmorton, Christchurch, around 3pm on Saturday.

“There is nothing to indicate that there were suspicious circumstances in relation to the death, and it has been referred to the coroner.”