Tuesday, April 14, 2009

A Mass of Christian Burial for De La Salle Christian Brother Patrick O’Brien was celebrated on April 4 at La Salle Institute in Wildwood, Mo. Brother Patrick, 71, died on March 31 in Fairhope, Ala., on his way to Florida to visit friends.

A native of Cincinnati, Brother Patrick was a 1956 graduate of Elder High School. He entered the novitiate of the Christian Brothers in 1958 in Glencoe, Mo., and professed his perpetual vows in 1964.

Brother Patrick held bachelor’s and master’s degrees from St. Mary’s College (now University) in Winona, Minn., and a master’s degree from St. Louis University. During his years as an educator he taught in Illinois, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Kentucky, and as a missionary in Ethiopia.

He taught at LaSalle High School in Cincinnati from 1965 to 1967 and returned to serve as assistant principal from 1978 to 1985. Since 2006 he had served as the mission advancement gift officer for the Sisters of St. Benedict in Ferdinand, Ind.

Brother Patrick is survived by his brother, Tom, of Oregon City, Ore.; and his sisters, Kathleen Wiechman of Forest Park; Margaret Bernard of Fairfield; Mary Dooley of Maineville; and Ann O’Brien of Dayton.

Interment was at Calvary Cemetery in Wildwood. A memorial Mass will be celebrated at St. William Church in Cincinnati on April 18 at 11 a.m.