Mary A. O'Halloran O'Brien

FRANKLIN, Mass. -- Mrs. Mary A. (O’Halloran) O’Brien, 85, of 130 Chestnut St., and a former longtime resident of Bennington, Vt., died Sunday, Sept. 10, 2006, at the Franklin Skilled Nursing & Rehabilitation Center. She was the wife of the late Patrick W. O’Brien, whom, until his death in 2003, she was married to for 61 years.

Born in Gardiner, Maine, March 12, 1921, a daughter of the late Stephen and Georgina (O’Meara) O’Halloran, she was educated in Prince Edward Island, Canada, and moved there, and after to New York, where she worked at Westbury Estates. Following her marriage to Mr. O’Brien on July 19, 1941, she moved to Long Island, where she lived until moving to Vermont in 1968.

While living in Vermont, she taught catechism at Sacred Heart School and also worked as an aide at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center.

She moved to Franklin in 2003 with her beloved cat “Abe.” She had a lifelong interest in caring for animals. She also enjoyed reading, planting flowers and family.

She is survived by two daughters, Patricia M. Finn and her husband, Michael, of Norfolk, Marilyn Klink and her husband, Arty, of Denver, Pa.; two brothers, Howard Griffin, of Florida, and Lyle Griffin, of Canada; two sisters, Ann Burke, of Sag Harbor, N.Y., and Frances Church in Canada; two grandsons, Arthur B. and Kevin J. Klink; and five great-grandchildren, Sean, Seth, Jenna, Alyssa and Kyle Klink.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend her funeral Mass Tuesday at 11 a.m. in St. Brigid’s Church in Westbury, N.Y. Interment will follow in Holy Rood Cemetery, Westbury.

Calling hours at the Donohue Cecere Funeral Home, 290 Post Ave., Westbury, are Monday 4 to 8 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory can be sent to the attention of the Activities Department at the Franklin Skilled Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, 130 Chestnut St., Franklin, MA 02038.

Local arrangements are under the direction of the Charles F. Oteri & Son Franklin Funeral Home, 33 Cottage St., Franklin.