Mark R. O'Brien

Mark Richard O’Brien was born on July 4th, 1956 and passed on January 20th, 2024. He is survived by his devoted wife, Karen E. O’Brien; brothers Dave and Vince; sister and brother-in-law, Janet and Vic Angeline III; brother-in-law and sister-in law, Rick and Laurie Bertolett; and nieces Jillian Angeline, Katlyn Austin, Kelly O’Brien, and nephew Victor Angeline IV. Mark was pre-deceased by his parents, William F. O’Brien Jr., and Margaret L. O’Brien and sister-in-law, “the other Karen O’Brien,” Karen L. O’Brien. Mark was born in Evanston, Illinois and always thought his was the “best birthdate”. He spent a year in Jacksonville, Florida and then the family moved to his beloved hometown of New Providence, New Jersey. Mark graduated from Rutgers University with a B.S. in Computer Science in 1978 and then moved to Dallas, Texas taking a computer programming job at Texas Instruments where he worked for 16 years. Mark met his wife, Karen, in June, 1980 and had a loving marriage for 40+ years. He also worked at Bell Northern Research/Nortel in Dallas for several years. After moving to San Antonio in 2000, Mark worked at SecureLogix for almost 20 years as a software engineer. Mark fought and beat cancer in 2023, and even after a stroke that affected only his swallowing, he was back at work until the day before his passing.

Mark was interested in science since he was a boy, watching Star Trek which inspired him to become a computer programmer. In high school he ran cross country, was a high jumper on the track team and played team handball with his large group of friends. He acted and danced in “West Side Story” and “Oklahoma.”

In Dallas and San Antonio, Mark and Karen loved watching movies, dining out and hanging with friends. Mark celebrated the US military, especially his good friends, Ram and Fred. In San Antonio, you would often find Mark sitting in a chair on the driveway, inviting neighbors to stop and share a beer and conversation. One of his favorite past times was attending the local air shows with his brothers Dave and Vince, and his cousins Keith, Jimmy and Erik. Mark would invite everyone from his street and the neighborhood bar to watch the International Space Station fly overhead and then enlighten them with facts about the solar system. “Mr. Mark,” as he was affectionately known by his dear friends, the Rodriguez family, will be forever missed.