Thomas Joseph O'Brien

Thomas Joseph O'Brien was born on July 23, 1951, in Ft. Dodge, IA, the son of William and Gertrude VanDeWeerd. He graduated from Corpus Christi grade school and then from St. Edmond High School in 1969.He worked for many years in the Electrical Supply industry, starting in Ft. Dodge and moving on to Buffalo, NY. He managed stores for Crescent Electric in Dubuque, IA, Albert Lea, MN, and Greeley, CO. After moving to California, Tom continued to work in the electrical industry for ESD-REXEL and later for Tom Watson Construction. After moving back to Iowa Tom went to work for Cleaning Connection as office manager and retired from that position in 2013. He went to work part-time at the new Hy-Vee Store in Ankeny at the Wine and Spirits Department for three years, retiring fully in 2016. Tom's hobbies included golfing, listening to Rock music and going to concerts,attending baseball and hockey games for the Twins and Rockies, snow skiing with his kids, fishing for walleye, driving his dune buggy in the desert, car shows and VW Bug drag races, visiting different places in Rocky Mountain National Park, traveling overseas to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, as well as going to NASCAR events. He enjoyed the Indianapolis 500, Newton Speedway races, cooking, and spending time with family and grandkids.

Tom and Lou Jean Becker-Hansen were united in marriage on October 3, 1998, at Catalina Island. They spent as much time as possible traveling and enjoying their time together. Tom is survived by Lou Jean, as well as their children Sayard (Ryan) Parrish and Matthew (Lindsey) O'Brien both of Olathe, KS; Kimberly (Mike) Gehrt of Mallard, IA; Kenneth (Angie) Hansen of Pocahontas, IA; Kelley (Mike) Ferguson of Spencer, IA; twelve grandchildren: Roman and Gemma Parrish, Dillon and Emerson O'Brien, Maddy Frieden, Elizabeth, Isabelle, Abigail Gehrt, Emma Hansen,Keagon and Kayden Boehout, and Eli Cable; one great grandson Theo Frieden; brother William (Pam) O'Brien of Castle Rock, CO; and brother-in-law Roger Berger of Farnhamville, IA. He was preceded in death by his parents; his sister Cathy Berger; and granddaughter Rebecca Hansen.  

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