The Honorable John J. O’Brien died on Saturday, November 5, 2016. He was eighty-six.
He was born in Roxbury, MA to Michael J. & Mary (Thorne) O’Brien in 1930. His family moved to Jamaica Plain on the Arborway when he was very young. He is pre-deceased by two older sisters, Mary and Dorothy.
He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Boston College and was a proud 1958 graduate of New England School of Law (New England Boston) when it was known as Portia Law School. The Honorable James R. Lawton, late Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the law school, awarded Judge O’Brien an Honorary Doctors of Law Degree in 1999.
While at Boston College, he was a reserve member of the United States Marine Corps. He was called to active duty and served in Korea from September 1950 to January 1952. He was honorably discharged at the rank of Captain.
Judge O’Brien returned to Jamaica Plain to re-kindle his romance with Gloria F. Nolan whom he met in the sixth grade. Judge O’Brien and Gloria were married on June 28, 1952. They were married for sixty-two years and spent the majority of their married life living in Milton, MA until Gloria passed away on August 4, 2014.
Judge O’Brien passed the Massachusetts Bar Exam in 1958 and worked at the Boston law firm of Hale, Sanderson, Byrnes & Morton. Judge O’Brien met his future law partner, John J.C. Herlihy at Hales Sanderson and in 1975 they formed the Law Offices of Herlihy & O’Brien.
On November 8, 1990, John J. O’Brien was sworn in as an Associate Justice of the Superior Court. During his service on the bench, Judge O’Brien displayed the same acuity for resolving cases short of trial as he did during his time as a trial attorney by identifying to both plaintiffs and defendants the strengths and weaknesses of their respective case. Trial lawyers would often describe the Judge as someone who would “let the lawyers try their case.”
Judge O’Brien “loved the law.” He was a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers both as an attorney and as a Judge. Judge O’Brien retired at the mandatory age of seventy. Soon thereafter, he was honored to have his portrait hanged in the first session courtroom of the Brockton Superior Courthouse. It was not uncommon for trial attorneys, while waiting for a jury to return a verdict, to write a note to Judge O’Brien while looking at his portrait. Plymouth County Clerk of Courts, Robert S. Creedon, Jr. once commented to Judge O’Brien’s sons, that court personnel still spoke of the Judge with highest regard years after his retirement.
The Judge loved to fish and was proud to be a member of the Hardwick Rod & Gun Club in Hardwick, MA. He was a past member of the Wollaston Golf Club and the Neighborhood Club of Quincy.
Judge O’Brien leaves his three sons, John Jr., Steven and Russell, all attorneys, a cherished daughter, Tara and eleven grandchildren. Judge O’Brien spent the vast majority of his days over the past few years enjoying the care and company of his beloved daughter-in-law while residing with his oldest son and his family.
A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Elizabeth Church, Milton, Wednesday at 10 am. Visiting hours will be held at the Alfred D. Thomas Funeral Home, 326 Granite Ave., Milton, Tuesday 4 to 7 PM. Burial in Milton Cemetery.