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BORN
1937
DIED
2020
Ellen O'Brien Obituary
O'Brien, Ellen
beloved wife of Ed O'Brien, mother of two, grandmother of seven, passed away on November 14th.
Born on May 22, 1937 in Kirkwood, MO to Oscar and Hilda Fuchs. Ellen was the eldest of six children. After attending St. Peters Grad School as a child, she graduated from Eugene Coyle High School. Ellen began working for her father's TV repair store then went to work at First National Bank of Clayton. She enjoyed the banking industry, however she left it for what turned out to be her true passion, real estate. She went to work for Ira E. Berry which eventually was bought by Coldwell Banker. During this time, she also was president of St. Louis Realtors Association , she was a member of Women's Council, the Real Estate League, the Clayton Chamber of Commerce and the Kirkwood & De Peres Chamber of Commerce. All the while working tirelessly at the business she and her husband created in 1978, O'B Clarks.
As part of her benevolent work, Ellen was Commissioner for St. Louis County for the homeless and in 1989 founded the REALTORS Housing Assistance Fund (RHAF), which continues to make an impact.
Her rich family life was not only as a mother and grandmother but also an aunt, great-aunt, to members for the O'Brien, Ahearn, Canoy, Jahnsen, Walters, and Hollocher families.
Ellen is preceded in death by her parents, Oscar and Hilda Fuchs; husband, Ed O'Brien; sister, Mary Jane Walters; granddaughter, Maggie; grandson, James; brother-in-law, James O'Brien; sister-in-law, Helen Ahearn.
She is survived by her sons, Joseph and James; sisters, Carol Hollocher, Judy Canoy, and Janis Jahnsen; brother, Roger; daughters-in-law Katana and Bridget; grandsons, Edward, Joey, Padraig, Thomas, and Cade; brother-in-law, Dan O'Brien.
Services: Memorial services will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to either the Ronald McDonald House Charities, www.rmhc.org or the Little Sisters of the Poor, www.littlesistersofthepoor.org
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