Joel Thomas O’Brien, of Plymouth formerly of Hanover, died on August 6th at the age of 72. He is survived by his beloved wife Connie (Barton) O’Brien of Hanover, his sons Plymouth County Treasurer Thomas Joseph O’Brien and his wife Kristina of Kingston and James Barton O’Brien and his wife Michele of East Sandwich. He also leaves his brother David T. O’Brien of Montgomery Village, MD and his 5 cherished grandchildren Jon, Jennifer, Jared, Sarah and Patrick. Brother of the late Gerald Richard O’Brien. Joel was born in Cambridge and graduated from Medford High School and Boston College where his received his BS and his MBA. He was an officer in the U.S Army and served during Vietnam. He was a member of the Hanover Democratic Town Committee for over 20 years and served on the Zoning Board of Appeals in Hanover for 15 years, several as the chairman. Joel enjoyed politics, reading, history, cribbage, bridge, playing tennis and the clarinet and saxophone. His greatest joy was spending time with his family, especially his grandchildren.
A funeral mass will be celebrated on Wednesday, August 11th at St. Bonaventure’s Church in Plymouth at 10 AM followed by burial at Centre Cemetery in Hanover. Visiting hours will be held at the Richard Davis Funeral Home, 619 State Rd (Rt 3A), Plymouth (Manomet) on Tuesday August 10th from 5 to 8 PM. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to the Alzheimers Association-MA Chapter, 311 Arsenal St, Watertown, MA 02472 or to the American Parkinson’s Disease Association, 72 E. Concord St. C3, Boston, MA 02118.