James S. O'Brien

1948 - 2018

James S. O'Brien was born April 20, 1948 in Des Moines, IA. He passed away Nov. 24. "Jim" was a veteran of the US Air Force 1967-1971, and obtained his Masters Degree, Zoology, University of California Davis in 1975.James (Jim) is survived by his mother, Patricia J. Law; sister, Becky (Joe) Szimhart; his wife of 45 years, JoAnn K. O'Brien; children, Heather (Byron) Leonard, Sean (Jaimi) O'Brien, and his grandsons, Lamar and Cohen. Jim's passion for life was shared to the world through his love of surfing, dogs (Golden Retrievers), model cars, golfing, and most of all people. Jim coached his children throughout their lives in many different sports, ranging from volleyball, soccer, baseball, golf and basketball. His love of people and sports carried over from his own children and into the community as he served as little league and rec soccer league directors for years, and later coached both the Vacaville High J.V. and Varsity Soccer teams for five plus years. Jim never learned to golf very well, but did it quite often, and anytime you could get him on the links, you were in for some great stories, a few "F" bombs, an accidental good golf shot, and a score that seemed a few strokes off from the actual round. All Jim ever wanted was that his family and friends to be happy and healthy, and have a great time while doing it. He is somewhere right now smiling, being louder than he is supposed to be, and hoping that everyone's day be the best that it could be. He is greatly missed, and will be remembered every day of our lives until we can one day join him. We love you!