Catherine (Katie) O'Brien

Catherine (Katie) Maureen O'Brien, 69, passed away peacefully on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, following a battle with cancer she faced with courage and grace. A devout and dedicated member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Altadena, Katie followed Pope Francis' passing by mere hours to receive the embrace of the Heavenly Father. She will, like Francis, welcome and serve those in Heaven with Love just as she did so long and well in life.

Born at Queen of Angels hospital in East L.A., Katie was a lifelong Southern California native. The 7th of twelve children born to Louis and Mary Elizabeth (Perine) O'Brien, Katie grew up Irish down to her soul, in San Gabriel and Alhambra, where she attended All Souls Catholic School and Alhambra High before moving with her family to Huntington Beach in her teens. Her parents' home on Lake Avenue in HB was a welcoming and open house, teeming with music, cousins, friends and would-be suitors attracted by the fantastic cacophony of life fairly bursting from its seams. There always seemed to be the nourishment of a bowl of spaghetti, some cereal, popcorn, along with the spectacle of nine sisters dancing, singing, arguing, or bouncing babies on their laps, all available to transfix and beguile anyone who was lucky enough to wander in.

Not long after high school, Katie married young and fully embraced her maternal nature, giving birth to daughters Adrian and Jessica, son Victor and daughter Veronica, each of whom she ferociously loved and zealously protected. Her two marriages didn't last but they gave her the children for which she was grateful, and eventually, the five beloved grandchildren that brought her so much joy and purpose.

Self-educated and self-invented, Katie was a force of nature and marched to her own drummer always. A single mom, struggling to make ends meet, she moved to Pasadena and trained to be a stockbroker, gradually making her way up the ladder, two steps forward, one step back. Seizing opportunities that wouldn't have occurred to others, she scraped together a few dollars to purchase two abandoned Craftsman homes from Cal Tech and had them trucked in pieces to an acre lot in the Altadena foothills, then spent the better part of two decades putting the houses back together in a self-made Eden, surrounded by gardens, goats, pigs, chickens, dogs, cats and her growing children. When her father passed away, Katie was thrilled to give her mother Mary the second house on her lot to live in through her last days.

Katie made lifelong friends wherever she went, from grade school, high school, church-- even her brokerage clients became her friends. Along the way she was always sustained by her faith, by her wonderful siblings, scores of cousins, nieces and nephews. Katie never turned away any family member who was in need of help or a place to lay their head. Her home was filled always with music, from the radio, her record collection, and a vast array of instruments she taught herself to play. She had a blast playing in two different bands. If you visited Katie at home, you'd be very likely to find her picking out a tune on one of her ukuleles, guitars or pianos, her accordion, concertina, marimba, Fender Rhodes keyboard, steel drum, flute, harmonica, pennywhistle or glockenspiel. She was always learning a new one.

She raised her children with love contained within an iron fist. Thanks to her strength, they each grew strong and independent after her example, and one by one, departed the nest and flew. Katie finally achieved the summit of her years of hard work, taking over her mentor Charlie Baggot's brokerage accounts at D.A. Davidson upon his retirement and became a trusted financial advisor to her clients. As was characteristic of her, she remained a loyal friend to Charlie, visiting him weekly for years, and helping his caregivers.

During the economic downturn, Katie zigged when others zagged: for a relative song, she bought 20 acres of land in Malibu overlooking the sea, where she parked a couple of trailers and shared the beauty of the land with her family. She also purchased a tiny teardrop trailer and took solo trips (accompanied by her dog Danny Boy) to her beloved Jalama Beach, to Dana Point, to Arizona, to Joshua Tree, to a rock music festival in Texas. She patented inventions. She paraglided. She read, she danced, she studied the Bible, she volunteered, she went to see live music, she tipped extravagantly, she expanded her universe. She was loved madly, and loved truly and deeply in return.

Then, in her mid 60s, Katie chased her biggest dream of all, learning how to sail. She bought a sailboat at 66 and spent glorious days sailing off the coast with her family and guests, marveling at the dolphins and pelicans and herons and seals. She was an inveterate fixer – and the challenge and fun of keeping her boat in good sailing order kept her fit and sharp and fulfilled.

Katie had a special love for children and young people. When she was diagnosed with cancer last year, instead of slowing down, she redoubled her dedication to her faith, her church and her 'kids'-- her own grandchildren, and those in care of her parish. She was moved by the sermons and conversations with her priest Father Gilbert, and so inspired, in addition to serving as a volunteer and Lecter, she taught a pre-Communion class of teens and tweens every Sunday, practical life lessons from the teachings of Jesus, and encouraged them with a simple refrain that was her guide and truth in all situations: God is Love.

Her final year was a rewarding and fulfilling time. She attended reunions for two high schools, reconnecting with cherished friends, and kept them close. She spent precious and beautiful days with her children, who rallied to her side, and her grandbabies, whom she loved so dearly. Her brothers and sisters each gave her their love and strength, and sustained her with their humor and companionship as she lived each day with intention and gratitude, with courage, but also a deep acceptance of God's plan for her. She had a smile for everyone.

One more challenge awaited her: in January, the Altadena fire took her home and all of her life's belongings. Undaunted, Katie and her dog simply moved onto her little sailboat and made their home with the seagulls and sea lions. Her focus remained always on others. She kept the tree trimmer whose own business suffered from the fire busy trimming trees on her fire ravaged Altadena lot, just to keep him employed as best she could. That was Katie.

Six weeks later, when she and a dozen volunteers sorted through the ashes of her Altadena homestead in search of any valuables or sentimental treasures, they found nothing at all. As they all packed up to go, discouraged, someone tripped over a piece of twisted metal. But when they picked it up, Katie recognized it immediately. It was the sculpted steel figure of Jesus that had hung on a wooden crucifix on a wall, revealed intact under the ashes of her piano. Katie was radiant at the discovery, smiling but not surprised. Of course, Jesus hadn't really perished.

Neither in our hearts will she.

Katie O'Brien is survived by her daughter Adrian Ziemer; daughter Jessica Downs; son Victor Burnett; daughter Veronica Malby; stepson Mark Burnett; and grandchildren Rowan, Pearce, Nolan, Adelaide and Florence. Her brother Louie and sister Meggie preceded her in passing, but her sisters Rosemary Wollman, Dottie Baylor, Annie O'Steen, Deidre Andre, Moira Kenner, Janie Moore and Gina Johnson, and brothers Angus O'Brien and Charlie O'Brien remain to carry forward her memory.

Services:

A Vigil will be held in her honor Friday, May 23, 7pm.

Memorial Service May 24, 2pm
Reception to follow immediately after.

All at Sacred Heart Catholic Church
2889 N. Lincoln Ave., Altadena CA 91001

Flowers for the services and/or Donations in Katie's memory may be made to Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Altadena.