Charlotte O'Brien
1926 - 2007
Charlotte O'Brien
1926 - 2007
Obituary
Guest Book
BORN
1926
DIED
2007
Charlotte O'Brien Obituary
Charlotte was a 1943 graduate of Waterbury High School and continued her education at the Bishop DeGoesbriand Hospital School of Nursing, graduating in 1948.
Charlotte is survived by her children, Shaunee O’Brien Higgins and her husband, Philip of Fairfield, Patricia O’Brien, MD and her husband, Paul Schaberg of South Burlington, and Casey O’Brien Downes and her husband, Stephen of Cheshire CT; her grandchildren, Christopher Higgins, Ted Downes, Brian Downes, Kevin Downes, Kurt Schaberg and Emma O’Brien; two sisters, Patricia Eastman and Dorothy Morrell, both of Waterbury; a brother, Charles Morrell of Waterbury Center; as well as nieces, nephews and extended family. She was predeceased by a sister, Anne Morrell Rand in 1984.
The family would like to extend their appreciation for the wonderful care and consideration shown to Charlotte and her family by the staff at Pillsbury Manor Gazebo Apartments, Dr. Weinberg and staff at the Thomas Chittenden Health Center and the staff at Fletcher Allen Health Care.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated from St. Andrew Catholic Church in Waterbury on Wednesday, March 7, 2007 at 10 a.m. There are no calling hours. Spring interment will take place in Holy Cross Cemetery, Duxbury. It was Charlotte’s wish that flowers be omitted; rather memorial gifts would be appreciated to the Edmundite Missions, 1428 Broad Street, Selma AL 36701-4304. To send on-line condolences, please visit www.perkinsparker.com. The Perkins-Parker Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Waterbury is assisting the family.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
David Gile
March 22, 2007
Shaunee, Patti and Casey,
Let me start by saying how sorry I am for the loss of your mother and a beautiful person. She touched the lives of many and had a profound affect on many young friends of you three girls. Living next to you on Lincoln Street has left me with many fond memories of a wonderful childhood. I spent many hours at your house (maybe too many-Ha Ha) and can still recall great times with you all and your parents. The sandwiches and cookies your mother used to make, watching television together, your dad pulling us up Perry Hill on sleds with his old jeep, will continue to bring a smile to my face when I think of them. Your mother was always a gracious host to this pesky neighbor. Ha. She is with your dad now and they are, no doubt, dancing the way they used to. She left this earth knowing that she made a difference in the world and raised three fine daughters to carry on, raising her grandchildren to be fine young men and women. My sincere condolences to you all.
Casey, I’m sorry for my part in your breaking your leg. (I can’t remember if I ever told you that before.) God be with you all.
patti obrien
March 11, 2007
This is from the funeral service for those that could not join us.
Eulogy for Charlotte O'Brien
On behalf of my sisters and I, I would like to thank you for coming to join us in the celebration of the life of Charlotte Morrell O'Brien
It seems like it was only a short time ago I was standing here to Eulogize my father, known to you as Bob O'Brien or Bumpy. God has welcomed another angel into heaven, and now it is time to remember his beloved wife "Charlie" who we remember as Charlotte Morrell O'Brien or Mom, or Nanna, or Nannie. We each had our own fond name for this remarkable woman.
She blessed Shaunee, Casey and I with an idealic childhood. Our parents worked very hard to surround us in a magical stable world, and protected us as best they could from the realities of life. That meant we grew up believing that a mothers kiss could make a knee scrap stop bleeding, that tooth fairies would remember to put a quarter under our pillow for every tooth we lost, and that it was leprechauns putting those pennies under the mushrooms out on the lawn.
My mother was a very modest woman, and it was only yesterday talking with her sister Dorothy that I learned of some of my mother's awards and honors. I had no idea that mom had won prizes for her public speaking, that she had received first prize honors for her presentation of "White Lilacs" in 1942, and second prize for "The White Cliffs of Dover" in 1943. She had never told us she had skipped the 6th grade, or that she received the Gold Seal award for passing the state nursing board exam with exceptional top grades. She valued education, and always encouraged us to do our homework, and to also value educational opportunities, but she had never boasted of her own excellence.
It was rare for my mother to talk about herself. So it was fun to hear Dorothy talk about the antics of my mom and her younger siblings as children. Dot recalled a story of an Easter trip to Bethel to visit Grandma and Grandpa Morrell when Dot and Pat threw their Easter Bonnets out the car window. Reportedly Charlotte had thought that it was a bad idea, and held on to her Bonnet. As the oldest child mom had thought she needed to act sophisticated. We found a book of the rules of etiquette in her childhood treasures.
When going through my mothers' papers we found some of her love letters from my dad. It is pretty clear that he was quite infatuated with my mom. He wrote lots of letters to her while he was sitting in classes at St. Mikes and told her how he could not pay attention to the class, all he could think about was her. Mom had told me the stories of their dating, and how her little sister Anne used to sit at the top of the stairs and sing "little bobby Shaftow went to sea" when he used to go to the house at Swasey Court to pick her up for a date. She had saved a card that had come with a bouquet of red roses that from dad that had said, "all I can think about is you" In his letters he also talked about how he had to share the car with his sisters Florence, Roberta at that time. I guess perhaps Ellen didn't yet have a driver's licensee so that she was not competing with him for the hot date mobile. Their wedding was in this church; it was officiated by Father Dyer in September 1948 and witnessed by her sister Pat Morrell and Frank O'Brien.
As a kid I loved to watch my mom and dad dance in the living room. In about 1960 we got a stereo record player, which was big deal at the time. He would put on "Red Roses for a Blue Lady" by Nat King Cole and sing this to her as they danced. We fondly remember him also trying to sing like Bing Crosby to mom and do that low voice…We also got our first TV in the 60s. Mom was very careful not to let us watch too much TV; she wanted us to learn to enjoy the great outdoors.
Charlotte and Bob left us with many words of wisdom and rich years of mentoring. So just as I tried to outline some of the lessons I had learned from my dad, I want to try to list some of the gifts my mom has left us with:
1.) Cherish the little cherubs in your life. Children are a precious gift from God. My mother was wonderful with children; she loved to hold babies, and was always very calm, gentle, and patient with them. She taught her daughters to love babies, and was a gentle teacher as showed us to how to take care of our little baby dolls. Chris Higgins was the first real baby doll that we got to really try out our skills on. I will never forget us feeding him sherbet in kitchen at the Lincoln street house. We all squealed with laughter, as he would eat up all these goodies like a hungry bird with his mouth always open for more!
2.) When your lips are blue you have to get out of the pool. We all spent many summer days at the caboose pool. There were very few rules at the caboose other than don't drive the go cart into the caboose, no stuffing frogs down other peoples bathing suits, and when your lips turn blue you have to get out of the water.
3.) Apple pies should be baked with love and lots of apples. Her apple pies were wonderful; she always stacked up the apples deep in the dish, and had a great way with folding the crusts. Her pies hot out of the oven were a bit of heaven. I am sure she and have already enjoyed one up in heaven with a side of vanilla ice cream.
4.) She strongly believed in Equity and fairness in all walks of life. She was deeply moved by the work of Martin Luther King, and the work that the Edmonites Missionaries were doing in Selma Alabama. The work of Dr. King on Civil Rights was important to her, and she always respected the needs of persecuted persons. She preferred to have donations go to this cause instead of flower adornments for her own funeral. That practical frugality was a part of who my mom was. Not only did she care about social equity, she was always careful with equity between her children, to the point that as adults we always got the exact same Christmas presents.
5.) Chocolate will fix anything. Charlotte chocolate, any type of chocolate. When we were looking for a good picture for the obituary one of our favorites was her winning the box of chocolates in the Yankee Swap at Chuck and Joys Christmas party. She had a big smile on her face and was holding up that treasured box of Godiva goodies.
6.) Show respect for the church. This was a very deep rule in our household. I only remember getting my mouth washed out with soap once as a kid. Casey and I had gotten into a shouting match in front of this church one fine spring morning after mass, and it we got it good when we got home. Our parents tried hard to surround us with the traditions of the Catholic faith, from Lenten candles to fish on Friday. Mom struggled with our translations of these traditions into our families of today. When we gave her a copy of the Da Vinci Code, being the avid reader that she was, she did read it. But then was afraid it might have been a sin to have done so. She was relieved when the priest doing her confession admitted that he too had enjoyed novel.
7.) Love your family. My Mother was a very private woman deeply devoted to her family. She doted on her grandchildren. From Christopher to Emma, they just sat on the couch in Waterbury and she brought in the trays of food and tried to meet their every little desire. This last Christmas she enjoyed one last holiday in the "old Morrell homestead" on Swasey court. She was very excited about this, and wanted to be sure she had gifts for the kids. She was no longer able to get out and do her own shopping at that point, but our good family shopper Ms Emma was happy to do the shopping for her. Mom enjoyed showing the other residents at Gazebo apartments the teddy bear she had for Ely and the fairy outfit and wings she had for Josie. She loved little children and wanted them all to love the spirit of Christmas and to be blessed with a Santa that was able to give them their every sugar plum dream. And as it was a Morrell family get together, she had to bring food, we all know there is no such thing as too much food at family gatherings.
8.) When it is time to leave, get up and leave. When she felt it was time to leave where she was and move on to the next place, she did. She like, my father, left us much more abruptly than we were expecting. In her organized way, she had everything ready for passing before she left us, she had picked out her own casket, made the funeral arrangements, and had done all she could do to get us ready for life without her here with us. My mother did her very best, to try to make her daughters ready for life without her. She had encouraged us to be ready to move on in our own lives for years. It was my mothers' time to leave us, and we will miss her deeply. But it is now time for us to celebrate her life, and to try to live the lessons my mother has left us with.
I know she and my dad are back together again, enjoying stories about all of you here. I now you are here because she also touched your life in some special way. I hope you will join us after this service to look at pictures of her life, and to share the many special stories we all have about her. On behalf of my sisters and I, I want to thank you for being a special part of my mothers' life.
Diane Cleary
March 9, 2007
Dear Casey and family, We are so sorry about the loss of your Mom/Grandmother. Cherish your wonderful memories, they are yours to keep forever. You are in our thoughts and prayers.The Cleary's Doug, Diane and children.
Bonnie Tuscany
March 9, 2007
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Margaret Butler
March 8, 2007
Dearest Casey and family,
I am so very sorry for your loss. We have talked about your mom and I know how painful this is for you. I also know about losing a mom; there's no replacement and it takes the heart a long time to heal. Do know that there are many of us who care about you, wish you well, and are sending you strength and prayers. I hope that brings you comfort. I wish I could have been present for you. I am with you in spirit. Fondly, Margaret
Nancy Beringer
March 8, 2007
Dear Patti and family,
Our hearts go out to you with your mother's passing. May memmories of happy times once spent with her ease your sadness.
Love,
Nancy & John
Anne Imhoff
March 8, 2007
Dear Dr. O’Brien,
I was extremely saddened to read your mother passed away last week. Please accept my deepest sympathy for you and your family. I know how much you enjoyed sharing Waterbury news with your mother. The O’Brien’s were wonderful Waterbury neighbors and highly regarded within the community.
With sincere regrets,
March 8, 2007
Dear Casey and family,
We are so sorry to hear about your loss. We send our thoughts and prayers to you and your family.
Deepest Sympathy,
Karen Smith, Maureen Moylan, Kim Haskell, Ed Bratina
Susan Lipka
March 8, 2007
Casey, Even though we cannot be with you at this difficult time,our hearts are with you and your family. Your mother was very special to you and the love and times you shared will always be with you.
With our love and prayers,
Tommy and Susan
Sally Grady
March 8, 2007
Dear Casey and Family,
Please know that we are all thinking of you and your family during this time. God Bless.
Siempre,
George and Sally Grady
Maurice Castrogiovanni
March 8, 2007
Dear Casey,
I'm sorry to hear of your Mom's passing. I can only imagine what you must be feeling right now. Hopefully, you may find peace and comfort through this trying time. Sincerely,
Leonilda DiTomasso
March 8, 2007
Casey,
You and your family are in my meditations and prayers. I am sorry for your loss yet appreciative to your mother for giving life to you and therefore your boys as well.
Blessings,
Leonilda
March 8, 2007
Dear Casey,
My deepest sympathy to you and your family. I am so sorry for your loss. My thoughts and prayers are with you.
Sincerely,
Amy Roberts
Susan Morrison
March 8, 2007
Downes & O'Brien Family,
Our thoughts are with you.
God Bless.
The Morrison Family
Tara Gallagher Lech
March 8, 2007
Dearest Casey and Family,
My thoughts and prayers are with you and yours.
Love, Tara
Rose Weed
March 7, 2007
Dear Casey and family,
I am so sorry for your loss. You are in my thoughts and prayers.
Sincerely,
Rose and Dave Weed
Dexter and Judy Spaulding
March 6, 2007
Judy and I send our prayers to the family of Charlotte O'Brien. The O'Brien and Morrell family are special people and our hearts go out to them at this sad time. My older brother Sam was a classmate of Dorothys and I was in Chuck's class at W.H.S. It seems like yesterday that we all congregated at Swasey Court to spend time with your Mom and Dad- what wonderful people they were. God Bless all of the O'Briens and The Morrells. Sincerely
Sandy Hough
March 6, 2007
Shaunee, Patty, Casey - I want to express my deepest sympathy in the loss of your mom. I know what you are going through in that my family all went through it just a year ago with my mom. I have so many pleasant memories of living across from "The O'Briens" all those years growing up. There is not a time that I go by the house on Lincoln Street that I don't think of you all. My family sends their thoughts your way. Love to you all.
George & Liz Patch
March 6, 2007
Our deepest sympathy to you all. Please know our thoughts and prayers are with your wonderful family.
God Bless.
George and Liz (Barry) Patch
Nancy Santucci
March 6, 2007
Dear Shaunee, Patty and Casey - as I read those long familiar names and look at your mother's picture, I am flooded with so many memories of all my beautiful and elegant cousins whom I wished to be like when I grew up - (not Chuck; he was my hide and seek buddy) - I will carry your mother's spirit with me all day and think of you all tomorrow - one of my most treasured pieces of paper is the one on which our grandmother wrote laboriously in pencil all of our names - Charlotte will be most welcomed by her and continue to be well cared for in heaven - as I was pleased to read she was in her last days -
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48 South Main Street Waterbury Village Historic District, Waterbury, VT 05676
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