|
a.
|
Note: Obituary Legacy.com O'Brien, Dr. Francis J. "Frank" Died on October 19th after a brief stay in a Tampa, Florida hospital. Frank was 92 years old and suffered a fall at home from which he did not recover. Frank died peacefully surrounded by his family. Frank was born on December 8th, 1922 in Melrose, MA and was the eldest child of Francis J. and Helena (Flynn) O'Brien. He was predeceased by his daughter Gail, son Mark, and sister Terrie. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Marie Eastwood O'Brien. He is also survived by his son Michael of Proctor, VT, David of Plant City, FL, Susan O'Keefe of Lutz, FL, seven grandchildren, and one great grandchild. Frank is also survived by his sisters, Pauline Spencer and Helena Rittershaus both of Arundel, ME, and Mildred Harrington of Sarasota, FL. Frank graduated from Malden Catholic High School, attended Boston College and graduated Brown University and Tufts University School of Dental Medicine. He practiced dentistry in Whitman MA for 37 years. Frank was past president of both the South Shore Dental Society and the Northeastern Dental Society. He was a member of the Cardinal Spellman Chapter of the Knights of Columbus and a Fourth Degree Knight. Frank had a lifelong commitment to physical fitness as witnessed by a number of significant contributions to the field. He was a pioneer in starting the physical fitness program at the Brockton, MA YMCA. Frank's dedication to the physical fitness field was recognized with an appointment to the President's Council on Physical Fitness. He was a contributing author to the book, "The Y's Way to Fitness" along with his close friend, Dr. Bernard H. Howes. Frank had a lifelong love for the sport of baseball having been the captain of his high school baseball team and played for Boston College as well as the U.S. Navy in Oakland, CA. While at BC, he played third base against the Red Sox at Fenway Park during an exhibition game. He also enjoyed coaching pony league baseball. He was most proud of being a member of three national championship senior softball teams while living in The Villages, FL where he retired in 1989. Photographs and comments celebrating Frank's life can be left at - https://flic.kr/g/rdeat or at frabern20@@gmail.com. Services will be held at a later date. Published in The Boston Globe on Nov. 7, 2015
|
