Joan O'Brien
Wife, Mother, Grandmother, & Friend
Macedon: Joan passed away on June 7 at age 96. She was predeceased by her loving husband of 65 years, Michael, her "Duke" and the love of her life. She is survived by seven children: Maureen O'Brien Oser, Kevin O'Brien, Sheila O'Brien, Siobhan O'Brien, Brendan O'Brien, Deirdre Rosenberg and Declan O'Brien; eleven grandchildren: Kelsi and Jeremy Oser, Elizabeth and Therese O'Brien, Michael and Connor O'Brien, Jared and Andrew Rosenberg, Alec, Aidan and Caitlin O'Brien; and a great grandchild Aria Oser.
Joan was born in Ballyvourney, County Cork, Ireland, one of 10 children. She grew up in the "Gaelic speaking" area of Ireland. She attended business school in Dublin and, at age 20, joined the Irish Civil Service. Joan met Michael at a dance in Ballyvourney in 1952 when she was home for the weekend on holiday. Michael had just returned to Ireland from America. It was "love at first sight" but, according to Joan, she told Michael that "they could not live on love alone" so he went back to America for work. After a long-distance romance that lasted about a year, she followed Michael to America. They married in Boston, MA and settled in Fairport, NY. Joan worked for the Fairport Herald Mail when she first arrived in Fairport. Later she worked as a bookkeeper and tax preparer in her home while raising 7 children and managing a busy household. In her late forties she accepted a job as a receptionist at the Fairport Baptist Home and worked her way up to the position of Personnel Director before she retired.
Joan had a strong faith in God, always keeping family and friends in her prayers. She rooted for the underdog and was generous with her time whenever someone needed a shoulder to lean on. She loved flowers, babies and reading a good book. Joan never lost her Irish brogue, her wonderful smile or her infectious laugh. She had a kind and loving spirit and all who knew her loved her. Joan valued and embraced lifelong friendships including her tremendous community of neighbors from Macedon to Fairport, members and clergy from the Catholic Church and all of her co-workers and friends at the Fairport Baptist Home.
Joan will be remembered most of all for being a loving wife to her husband Michael, a caring Mother to her seven children, a proud Grandma to her grandkids and a thoughtful friend and neighbor.
A Memorial Mass will be offered on Thursday (June 17), 10 AM at Church of the Assumption, 20 East Avenue, Fairport, NY 14450. In lieu of flowers, donations in Joan’s memory may be directed to St. Jude's Children’s Hospital, www.stjude.org. To leave the family an online condolence, please visit www.murphyfuneralservices.com.
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