Terence (Terry) J. O'Brien

Terence "Terry" John O'Brien was born on May 31, 1939 in Long Island, NY. On December 25, 2024, surrounded by loved ones at home, Terry passed away and went on to be with God and the rest of his family.

Terry is survived by the love of his life and wife of 59 years, Ann O'Brien, formerly Ann Amburn of Rapid City, SD. Terry is also survived by their four children: Dawn Maciel (Eric) of San Jose, CA; Michael O'Brien (Marcie) of Reno, NV; Heather O'Brien Schmidt (Scott) and Blythe O'Brien Contreras of Wheatland, CA.

Terry was a very proud grandpa to 12 grandchildren: Sarah Maciel (Matt), Samantha Maciel, John Maciel (Erinraquel), and Sophia Maciel of the San Francisco Bay Area; Chance O'Brien, Kaitlin O'Brien, and Kailey O'Brien of Reno, NV; Dalton O'Brien Schmidt, Bella O'Brien Schmidt, Gracie O'Brien Schmidt, Anthony Contreras, and Ethan Contreras of Wheatland, CA. He also loved to see and get updates about his 7 great grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents Grace and Jack O'Brien of Pebble Beach, CA, and his three siblings: Patricia Cuje of Denver, CO; Jack O'Brien of Birmingham, AL; and Don O'Brien of Laurel, MS.

Terry served two terms in the United States Air Force Strategic Air Command from 1959 to 1966, working on B-52s at Ellsworth Air Force Base and the GAM77 Hound Dog missile at Ellsworth and Beale Air Force Base, where he received his honorable discharge.

After the military, Terry worked in electronics in Silicon Valley and Los Angeles and received 17 U.S. and European patents in the areas of disk drives, Optical Character Readers, and the first In-Car Automobile Navigation system at Etak where he was responsible for all the hardware design.

Terry then went on to work for News Corporation as Vice President of the Advanced Technology Center, helping to develop the Fox Sports electronic hockey puck for the National Hockey League.

He finished his innovative career in TV sports broadcasting as co-founder and Vice President of Sportvision in Mountain View, CA, where he was responsible for all the hardware design of systems used to create the yellow 1st down line for televised football as seen on all the major networks, baseball's K-Zone on ESPN, and NASCAR's in-car telemetry system as seen on Fox, NBC, Turner, and ESPN. He received more patents and was awarded three TV Emmys for Technical Excellence in FOX and ESPN football broadcasts and for NASCAR's Daytona 500 race.

When living in San Jose, CA, while his kids were growing up, Terry served as President of Pop Warner's Oak Grove Youth Football program. He then moved up to the position of Commissioner of San Francisco Peninsula Pop Warner Football.

Terry and his family moved from San Jose to the Camp Far West Lake area in 1989 and spent many hours together water skiing and recently quad riding in the Sierras with great friends.

Terry was a beloved family man and dear friend whose absence will be felt immeasurably.

A funeral service will be held on Thursday, January 16 at 12 pm at St. Daniel Catholic Church, 214 Main Street in Wheatland, CA. Burial with military honors will be at Wheatland Cemetery.