Don Don O'Brien

Donald George O'Brien (Don) was born in San Francisco on October 21, 1932, the youngest of Charles and Hazel O'Brien's three sons. His older brothers Bud, a chemist, and Bob, a San Francisco Police Officer, have passed on. Don graduated from Mission High School and married his high school sweetheart and love of his life, Virginia Gallegos, in 1951. They had two children, Don O'Brien Jr. born in 1952 and Claudine "Cee Cee" Gnat born in 1966. He worked for the San Francisco Fire Department and relocated to Novato, buying the house that would be his home for the next 48 years. Don worked his way up the ranks at the Fire Department and retired as Assistant Chief after 26 years of service. He went on to become a top seller for Frank Howard Allen Real Estate. One of Don's favorite hobbies was restoring classic cars; he owned an average of 20 cars at once for more than 30 years, with the Ford Mustang being a particular favorite. He also enjoyed sports, both as a participant and spectator,especially baseball. A talented musician, Don played saxophone in his high school band. Later he taught himself to play guitar and piano and even wrote his own music. He also loved animals, especially dogs, and leaves behind his beloved dog Libby. Don O'Brien died of complications of injury at 2:05pm on Sunday, October 25, 2009, surrounded by loving family. In addition to his wife and children, he is survived by two grandchildren, Alex Young and Dionicia Gnat, also of Novato. A Memorial Service will be held at 3:00pm on Friday, October 30th at Keaton's Redwood Chapel of Marin, 1801 Novato Blvd, Novato.