John Francis O’Brien, caring physician and loving husband, father, grandfather, and friend, passed away peacefully at home on Monday, November 18, 2024, after a brief illness.
Born on January 27, 1934, in Milton to Francis X. O’Brien and Mary C. (Leahy) O’Brien, Jack was a mischievous younger brother to sisters Eileen O’Brien, Marie Gunderson Bernier, and Elizabeth Shaw. Jack grew up in Quincy and spent summers on Kimball Beach in Hingham. He attended Tufts University and completed his medical studies at Boston University School of Medicine. At Tufts, he met his vivacious and loving wife Janet, and together they spent a rich, joy-filled 47 years raising their family and building a strong community of friends before her death in 2005.
Like his sisters before him, Jack served his country by enlisting in the US Army in 1958. During his active military service, he was deployed to Army hospitals in Texas, Virginia, Washington, DC, and Orleans, France. Jack retired from active duty in 1969 and returned to Massachusetts, where he continued to serve in the Army Reserves until he retired with the rank of colonel in 1994.
Jack started his medical practice in South Weymouth in 1969. For a number of years, he was the only ear, nose, and throat specialist from Boston to Cape Cod, and was a solo practitioner until he was joined in practice by his dear friend and colleague David Rudolph, MD. Jack served on the medical staff of South Shore Hospital, Carney Hospital, and Cardinal Cushing Hospital, and as an instructor at VA hospitals and the Boston University Department of Otolaryngology.
After returning to Massachusetts, Jack and his family eventually settled in Hanover, where an antique home, four acres of fields and gardens, numerous pets, and his wife and four daughters enriched his life beyond his busy medical practice. Jack was a gentleman farmer at heart. He had a huge vegetable garden, tended apple trees, grew endive in the cellar, and raised ducks, geese, and pigs. On more than one occasion, Jack could be seen herding escaped pigs down the middle of Washington Street, aided by the town’s dog catcher and a couple of brooms. When notified by phone that his pigs were in a neighbor’s yard, Jack was known to respond, “How do you know they’re my pigs? Can you describe them?...”
Jack could call upon a seemingly limitless store of jokes for every occasion, and he valued utmost in others the qualities that he possessed in spades: integrity, kindness, compassion, humor, and the ability to love deeply.
He loved nothing more than sitting down to a family dinner where everything - from tomatoes to pork chops to apple pie - had come from his land and his hard work. He filled his life with family and friends, hosting an annual Christmas Eve party complete with red bowtie, trays of champagne, and raucous neighborhood caroling. He organized sausage making parties, poker nights with his colleagues, and ski trips with close friends and family. When he found the time, he loved to join his friends for a round of golf at the Marshfield Country Club, where he was an active member for decades. Following his retirement, MCC became his home away from home, and he treasured his many friends and golfing comrades in arms. In his later years, travel filled his dreams and his days. He traveled extensively in Europe, and took his daughters to far-flung destinations like Egypt, the Galapagos, Southeast Asia, and Antarctica.
As a widower, Jack found love again in an enduring relationship with Sallie Oberg. Sallie and Jack shared many adventures, and her presence in Jack’s life was the source of much joy, comfort, and support.
Jack was predeceased by his parents, his sisters, and his wife of 47 years, Janet W. O’Brien. He is survived by his four daughters, Julie O’Brien Larsen (Duane), Amy O’Brien Bird (Jose), Suzanne O’Brien, Margaret O’Brien (Harry); six grandchildren, Eric and Katie Larsen, Tomas and Isabella Bird, and Emmeline and John Diaz; and a loving circle of nieces and nephews. He is also survived by his longtime companion and dearest friend Sallie Oberg.
Visiting hours will be held on Tuesday, November 26, from 4-7 pm at Sullivan Funeral Homes, 551 Washington St. Rte. 53, Hanover, MA. Burial will be private. A celebration of life will be scheduled at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations in Jack’s memory may be made to Doctors Without Borders, 40 Rector St., 16th Floor, New York, NY 10006 or the Norwell Visiting Nurse Association and Hospice, 120 Longwater Drive, Norwell, MA 02061.
