Rita M. O'Brien

Rita M. O'Brien, 76, of Breinigsville and Milton Township, Maine, passed away Saturday, October 25, 2025 at the Lehigh Valley Inpatient Hospice Unit, Allentown. She was the wife of William C. "Bill" Meixner. Born in Conway, New Hampshire on August 14, 1949, Rita was the daughter of the late Frank J. and Neva (Soper) O'Brien. Rita loved horses and westerns as a child. She learned to ride as a pre-teen, had her own horse and pony in her thirties. She yearned to travel, doing a semester of study in France, visiting her ancestral home in Ireland, vacationing in the Caribbean and the South Seas. She was a folklorist, collecting and documenting oral histories of Las Vegas for the University of Nevada. She later moved out west to Montana, returning later to her native New England roots. Her love of animals was a constant throughout her life. Survivors: In addition to Bill; brother, Frank B. O'Brien of Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Florida; nephews, Frank J. O'Brien and his wife, Laura of Hanover, Massachusetts, Shaun O'Brien of Dorchester, Massachusetts; Kelly M. DiFlipio and her husband, Michael of Whitman, Massachusetts; predeceased beloved aunt, Ada "Auntie" Soper. Service: A celebration of Rita's life will be held 10:30 a.m., Saturday, November 1, 2025 in the Heintzelman – Stephens Funeral Home, P.C., 274 N. Krocks Road Allentown. Family and friends may visit from 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. in the funeral home Saturday. Online expressions of sympathy may be recorded at www.heintzelmanstephens.com. Contributions: In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Sanctuary at Haafsville, 901 Nestle Way, Breinigsville, PA 18031, https://www.thesanctuarypa.org or the Conway Lake Conservation Association, P.O. Box 803, Center Conway, NH 03813, https://www.conwaylake.org/.