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Patricia Fitzgerald O'Brien died late Sunday evening, October 25th, 2015 at Stonehill Care Center, Dubuque, Iowa. She was 91. A memorial Mass will be celebrated at 2PM on Saturday, November 21 at St. Columbkille’s Catholic Church, Dubuque, where friends may greet the family starting at 1PM. Her body has been donated to the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine.
Pat was born in Dubuque, Iowa, to Dr. Leslie Maurice Fitzgerald and Marcella Meis Fitzgerald on September 7, 1924, the middle of three daughters Shirley (Nan) Fitzgerald Gilloon, and Jacqueline Fitzgerald Merritt. She was graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of New Rochelle (New Rochelle, NY) in 1945. While in college, she met and fell in love with James A. O'Brien, then a midshipman at the United States Naval Academy. They married in 1945 at St. Raphael’s Cathedral in Dubuque, and were together for 67 years until Jim died in April, 2013. Following Jim's military service, they lived in Iowa City, Ann Arbor, and Detroit where Jim studied dentistry and oral surgery. In 1953 they settled in Dubuque to practice oral surgery and raise their five children.
Pat taught at Washington Junior High School and Catholic Charities for many years, and was an active member of the Dubuque Park and Recreation Board. She was also an avid tennis player, skier, bridge player, and loved the Mississippi river, but her favorite pastime was bringing people together for good conversation and fun.
Always an adventurer, Pat traveled extensively with Jim, their children, and many friends. She believed in embracing local cultures, learning by doing, teaching self-reliance by example and necessity, and understanding the world through first-hand experience.
Pat will be remembered for her vibrant intellect, her tenacity and passion for knowledge, her kindness and generosity, her warm, energetic and fun nature, and for her steadfast love for her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, extended family, and her friends at home and around the world.
She is survived by her children, James “Tim” (Mare) O’Brien, of Dubuque, Thomas O’Brien (Daphne Dwyer), of Charlotte, N.C., Leslie O’Brien (Leo) Sternlicht, of Port Jefferson, N.Y., Ellen O’Brien (George Neiley), of Charlotte, VT, and Ann O’Brien (Jeff Wilton), of Madison, WI; 13 grandchildren; and 2 great-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to the Stonehill Benevolent Foundation at Stonehill Care Center, 3485 Windsor Ave., Dubuque, IA 52001-1312 or at stonehilldbq.com/online giving.
The family would like to sincerely thank all those who helped Pat very kindly and compassionately at Assisi Village and Stonehill Skilled Nursing.