BEVERLY FARMS: Debra C. “Debi” (Richardson) O’Brien, 45, wife of Stephen P. O'Brien, Jr., passed peacefully at the Kaplan Family Hospice House on December 28, 2009 following a thirty-two year courageous battle against Multiple Sclerosis.
Born in Springfield on June 11, 1964, she was the daughter of Thomas and Suzanne (Curtis) Richardson of Beverly Farms. Raised in Longmeadow, she was a graduate of Wilbraham Monson Academy and moved to the North Shore to attend Gordon College.
Debi was a devoted wife and mother who loved her family. She was a member of the North Shore Community Baptist Church, Beverly Farms and was a devout Christian. She enjoyed Bible study and church activities. She had a special compassion for the infirmed. She also loved to summer on Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Island.
In addition to her husband of twenty-three years and her parents, she leaves behind her sons, Stephen P. O'Brien, III and Peter T. O'Brien of Beverly Farms, her sisters; Bethany Richardson of West Peabody and Pamela Poniatowski and her husband Matthew of RI, her brothers; Thomas Richardson, Jr. and his wife Cassandra of Florida, Peter Richardson of Springfield, MA, and sisters-in-law Sheila O’Brien Egan and her husband, Robert of Nantucket, Barbara A. O'Brien of Beverly Farms, and her father-in-law, Stephen P. O’Brien, Sr. of Manchester and many nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins and dear friends.
A celebration of Debi’s life will be held at the North Shore Community Baptist Church, 1 Hart St., Beverly Farms on Thursday, December 31, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. Relatives and friends are cordially invited to attend. In lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory may be made to the Friends of the Beverly Farms Library, 24 Vine St., Beverly Farms, MA 01915 or to the “Kaplan Family Hospice House” Hospice of the North Shore, 75 Sylvan St., Suite B-102, Danvers, MA 01923. Interment will be held privately in the Beverly Farms Cemetery.