Joan-O'Brien-Obituary

Joan O'Brien

Chicago, Illinois

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Chicago, Illinois

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O'Brien, Joan D. (nee Walus). Retired Director of Chicago Special Olympics. Beloved wife of 42 years to James M. Loving mother of Jennifer (Troy, CFD) Bennett and Meredith O'Brien. Cherished grandmother of Maggie, Mike, Abby and Nathan. Dearest sister of Larry (Pam) Walus, Judy (George) Reed,...

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Dear Jim,
We just recently heard of Joan's passing and are terrible sorry we didn't know sooner. Joan was a wonderful person and will be missed. Both of you were so dear to Mike's parents and I know they cherished you both. Our prayers are with you ane your family.
Mike and Anne Connor

Dear Mr. O'Brien, Jenny, Meredith, and families:

I am thinking of you and keeping all of you in my prayers at this time.

Jen and I went to school together forever. I always thought that Mrs. O'Brien was a beautiful woman; she was always smiling and always had something nice to say!

May God bless you at this difficult time.

Sincerely,

Karen Tegtmeyer

I was so sad to hear about the passing of Joan--she was an amazing lady & a true friend. I never lost touch with Joan after I left the park district in 1997--we sent letters every December & January and I always looked forward to potential opportunities to see her annually. I always enjoyed her spirit & loved her honesty. I tried so hard to make it to the wake/funeral but with no luck. I'm so sorry for your loss. She will be missed.

Judy and all,
I was sorry to hear of Joan's passing. All I can think about were the great times we had together before and after school at Lindblom HS. All of us, including Joan, Dee, Sue, Jo, the Kens, Frank, Greg and I had experiences together to remember with fondness. I will keep you all in my prayers.

Meredith, Jennifer, Jim and Kevin, My deepest sympathies on the loss of Joan. She was such a great champion for all most importantly the athletes of Special Olympics. I am so sorry I am not able to attend the services. She will be missed, but the hurt will be replaced by all the great memories and all the people she helped and supported!

One hundred years from now,
It won't matter what car you drove,
What kind of house you lived in,
How much you had in my bank account,
Nor what your clothes looked like,
But, the world may be a little better
Because you were important in the life of the special children and adults of Chicago!

To Abby and Maggie I am very sorry to hear about your grandmother. I give you all of my apologies and prayers. Get past the next two days strong, your grandma would have wanted that.

One hundred years from now
It won't matter what kind of car you drove, what kind of house you lived in,
how much money you had in the bank
nor what your clothes looked like
BUT
The world may be a little better
Because, you were so important
In the life of special children and adults.

We are so saddened by the news of Joan's passing. She certainly touched so many lives in such a giving and loving way. She will be missed, but always loved. May your hearts soon be filled with wonderful memories of joyful times together as you celebrate her life, so well lived. As I go over the bridge everyday, I always smile and remember that Joan loved the water to be "zero to flat"!