Dorothy O'Brien

A memorial service celebrating the life of Dorothy Marguerite O’Brien of Corvallis will take place at 4 p.m. Wednesday, May 19, at the Episcopal Church of the Good Samaritan, where for many years she was a proud and active member of the congregation. Dorothy O’Brien was born Oct. 12, 1943, in Ogden, Utah, to John and Tressa Driskill. The family moved to Buffalo, Wyo., when she was quite young. She started and completed her preparatory education in Buffalo, and went on to get a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Wyoming, and a master’s degree in library science from the University of Phoenix. She had a varied career, teaching English in Heilbronn, Germany, and Laramie, Wyo.; running a painting and wallpapering business in Buffalo; and finally settling into her permanent calling as a hospital librarian. After serving as the librarian for the community hospital in Gillette, Wyo., she accepted a position as a librarian at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis, where she came truly to love both the hospital and community. Dorothy was a kind and loving daughter, sister, wife, mother and friend; a quiet and peaceful person who migrated toward tranquil surroundings and delighted in beautiful things. Both are abundant in Corvallis, where she found contentment in the company she kept, the home and gardens she created, the places she would visit, and the values she treasured as reflected in her involvement in the League of Women Voters, P.E.O., and her church — especially the choir. Most fulfilling was the opportunity for artistic expression that blossomed during the later years of her life. Her art reflected her appreciation of the innate beauty of nature and, within it, mankind. Dignity, bearing and grace were the hallmarks of the personality attributes she demonstrated throughout her life, particularly near the end when she coped with Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS), the slow and relentless thief robbing victims of movement, speech and, ultimately, life. She married Terrence O’Brien on March 29, 1966, in Dover, Del. They had two children, Sean (wife Shawna) O’Brien of Washington, D.C., and Heather O’Brien of Portland. She is also survived by her mother, Tressa Driskill, 97, of Buffalo; and brothers Arlen Rounds and John Driskill of Wyoming, and Bill Driskill of Texas. She was predeceased by her father, John. Memorial donations can be made to the ALS Fund in care of the Muscular Dystrophy Association ALS Division, 1500 Valley River Drive, No. 300, Eugene, OR 97401.

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Dorothy O'Brien

October 12, 1943 - May 12, 2010