10/24/1944 - 7/25/2021

James R. O’Brien, of Saint Paul, MN; formerly of Saint Louis, MO; Richmond, VA; Kenilworth, IL; Milwaukee, WI; and Chappaqua, NY.  Son of the late Frank and Kathryn O’Brien.  Survived by wife, Rosalie; daughter, Sarah; siblings Patty (Dean) Matthews and Michael (Molly), Frank (Karen), and Gerald (Susan) O’Brien; stepson, Geoff (Julie); and countless other beloved family members and friends.

The world has lost one of its quietly great ones. Jim died on Sunday, July 25, of congestive heart failure, creating a permanent void for the rest of our lives.

He would likely say that this is too dramatic; he would say that he was just a good guy. Though he was a champion swimmer in his youth; a football player who returned from prep school to help the Horace Greeley High School football team achieve an undefeated season senior year; a proud graduate of Marquette University and its Law School; a stouthearted Marine who served as an air traffic controller in Vietnam; an Assistant District Attorney in Milwaukee who won the most challenging cases; and a business executive who excelled in leading companies such as Rawlings Sporting Goods and forging international relationships for others including Wilson Sporting Goods, as a golfer he enjoyed the winning play of his companions, and in retirement he pursued further education in art history and psychology. He was fascinated by the discipline of aikido. He derived great joy from empowering other people. And he was always ready to be challenged by his wife Rosalie and daughter Sarah, women who pushed the boundaries much as did his grandmother Arabelle Feldkamp O’Brien, M.D., who married another man of signal accomplishment, his grandfather Frank J. O’Brien, Ph.D., M.D.

He packed a lot into his 76 years. Words cannot describe how much we will all miss him.