Mrs. CHARLES (Florence Sweeney) O'BRIEN 1907-2003

LAUGHLIN, SWEENEY, OBRIEN, NIENSTEADT, HAMER, MAHER, CARR

Posted By: Mary Durr (email)
Date: 2/25/2004 at 21:34:55

Florence O'Brien

Telegraph Herald - Dec 30, 2003

Florence (Sweeney) O'Brien, 96, of Stonehill Care Center, formerly of 3465 Daniels St., died Saturday, Dec. 27, 2003, at the care center.

Services will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church. Burial will be in Mount Olivet Cemetery, Key West, Iowa. Friends may call from 3 to 7 p.m. today at Hoffmann-Schneider Funeral Home, 1640 Main St., where there will be a wake service at 3 p.m., and Catholic Daughters of the Americas rosary at 6 p.m.

Mrs. O'Brien began teaching during the era of the one room school in Dubuque and Jackson Counties. She taught special education at Prescott School in Dubuque. Her teaching career in elementary and special education spanned 49 years. Florence retired in 1977.

She was born on May 9, 1907, in Washington Township, Dubuque County, the youngest of 12 children of Edward and Margaret Anne (Laughlin) Sweeney. She married Charles O'Brien on June 27, 1950; he passed away on Aug. 2, 1983.

She graduated from the former Holy Rosary High School in La Motte, Iowa. She attended Loras College and the University of Dubuque, where she earned her bachelor of arts degree. Later, she studied at the University of Iowa, earning her master of arts degree and endorsement 35.

She was a member of St. Joseph the Worker Parish, Catholic Daughters of the Americas Court 1287, Third Order of St. Dominic, the Dubuque Retired Teacher's Association, Dubuque County ARC and the AARP.

Surviving are many nieces and nephews.

She also was preceded in death by her parents; brothers and sisters, Mary Niensteadt, Rita Sweeney, Johanna Hamer, Catherine Sweeney, James Sweeney, Joseph Sweeney, Edward Sweeney, Clair Sweeney, Catherine Maher, Myrtle Sweeney and Celestine Carr.

In lieu of flowers, a Florence Sweeney O'Brien Memorial Fund has been established.