Alice Ann O'Brien

Alice Ann O’Brien passed away suddenly at the home of her daughter in Houston, Texas on April 26, 2022. Just shy of her 84th birthday, she was born in Mobile, Alabama on May 20, 1938 to Helen Theresa Schambeau and Charles Edward Scheuermann, but primarily raised by her maternal grandparents, Tarelton Alfred and Mary Ardell Schambeau, after her parents divorced. She was named after her maternal great-grandmother Anney Alice Clarke but due to her diminutive stature had the nickname “Nunie” throughout her childhood. She grew up among an extended family of aunts, uncles, and cousins and spent her time in Mobile and Bayou La Batre, Alabama. She met her future husband, James Patrick O’Brien in Mobile while he was attending Spring Hill College and they raised five children while living in Michigan and then Texas. She was known as a great cook, had a flair for both design and fashion, and was a voracious reader of mystery novels. She enjoyed spending time in second-hand bookstores and taking her children on road trips to look at small Texas towns and the surrounding old farmhouses. After her divorce, she returned to the workforce in the 1980s and worked as an accounts receivable clerk before retiring in 2007 to spend time being a grandmother and great-grandmother. Her final years were spent happily living with her daughters and, to their consternation, sharing food with the family dogs who she cherished as her own. She was recently preceded in death by her husband Pat O'Brien, with whom she remained close throughout her life. She is survived by her children and their spouses, Shawn (Don), Dione, Dayna (Kevin), Tamra, and Cameron(Kristin). She is further survived by her beloved grandchildren Justin (Lindsey), Andrew, Kendall (Ben), Jack, Ashley, Lauren, and Erin as well as great grandchildren Rylie, Barrett, and newly born Eleanor. She had a unique sense of humor she passed to her children; she was much loved and her presence will be missed. A celebration of her life with close friends and family will be held in the near future.