James E. O'Brien

Jim OBrien, 78, of Mt. Pleasant, passed away Wednesday, July 14, 2010, at the Isabella County Medical Care Facility. A Memorial Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Friday, July 16, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church with Father Rick Varner presiding. The family will receive friends at Charles R. Lux Family Funeral Home, 2300 S. Lincoln Rd., on Thursday from 5-8 p.m. and at the church on Friday one hour prior to Mass. Jims body has been donated to science to further the studies of Parkinsons and diabetes. His ashes will be interred in Calvary Cemetery at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Parkinsons Foundation, American Diabetes, Heart, or Lung Association, Community Cancer Services, Hospice Advantage, or Sacred Heart Academy Foundation. Envelopes will be available at the church or funeral home. Jim was born April 28, 1932 at home, in Mt. Pleasant, the 6th of 13 children, son of the late Edmund James and Minnie Marie (Hobbs) OBrien. A graduate of Mt. Pleasant High School in 1950, Jim served two years and one day in the U.S. Army during the Korean Conflict. He worked on the family farm with his father while working at Ferro Manufacturing from 1965-1966. In 1966 he took a job as an instrument repairman with Dow Chemical, retiring in 1991. Jim married Martha M. Mead on July 24, 1975 and remarried Martha in the church on July 26, 2009. Jim is survived by his beloved wife, Martha; five sons and their wives, Phillip and Deb(Gaffney) OBrien of Crystal Lake, IL, David and Carlynn (Uzarrage) OBrien of Westmont, IL, Paul and Sue (Falasz) OBrien of Yorkville, IL, and their mother Myrtle (Ockert) OBrien of FL, Dennis and Mindy (Richardson) OBrien of Joliet, IL and Michael and Jenny (Shkolnic) OBrien of Island Lake, IL; and 13 grandchildren, Jacqueline Stephens, Jaclyn, Ethan, Stephanie, Neil, Johnny, Spencer, Jason, Justin, Cody, Kaylee, Mylee, and Brystol. Also surviving are eight siblings and their spouses, Mary Donna Graham of Kalamazoo, Lois and George Goulet of Lakeview, Theresa and Joseph Gross of Lansing, Barbara Ley of Kentwood, Pat and Kay (Roberts) OBrien of Vermontville, Jerry and Janice (Balon) OBrien of Grand Ledge, John OBrien of Alma, and Susan and Eloy Soto of Elwell; three sisters-in-law, Rose OBrien of Mt. Pleasant, Renee OBrien of Midland and Lorraine Payne of Lansing; two brothers-in-law and their spouses, Larry and Carolyn (Straus) Mead of Mt. Pleasant and Don and Jacquie (Veit) Mead of Hopkins; one step-sister, Shirley (Elliott) Wallace of Diamondale; three step-brothers-in-law, Mark and Dolly of Penn Creek, PA, Harold and Barb of Mission, TX, and Joe and Carol of Stevensville, MD; one step-sister-in-law, Pat Elliott of Albion; and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Therese Ann (1978); father (1974); mother (2001); sister, Ella Jean Voisin (1997) and her husband, Leo Voisin (2006); three brothers, Lawrence Mike OBrien (1993), Martin and his wife Leona Ony OBrien (2000), Bill OBrien (2007); father-in-law, Donald Mead (1977); mother-in-law, Elsie (Klumpp) Elliott (1994); step-father-in-law, Warren Elliott (1981); two sisters-in-law, Virginia Sheldon (1995) and Rosemary Hoffman (2003); and five brothers-in-law, Capt. Donald F. Schmidt (1966); Charles Sheldon (1992), Ronald Elliott (2008), Virgle Payne (2009), and Thomas Wallace (2010). The family would like to express their deep gratitude to all the staff at the Isabella County Medical Care Facility and Hospice Advantage for all of their love and devotion.