Eulogy for Owen Wilfred O’Brien
Owen Wilfred O’Brien was born in Liverpool in 1936 to Owen and Gertrude O’Brien, being the second of five children. Two siblings, a brother and a sister did not survive early childhood. Owen’s elder brother Billy, enjoyed good health to old age whilst Owen’s only surviving sibling, Irene, lives in Australia. Owen is also survived by Lillian, his loving wife of 61 years, his children Owen, Carole and Miranda, his grandchildren Elizabeth, Ciaran, Calum, Patrick, Caitlin and Declan and his great grandson Hendrix.
Owen was raised, educated and spent his early working life in Liverpool with the exception of a brief period of time spent in Leyland during the second world war when he, along with many other children were evacuated to escape German bombing raids. Owen would tell mischievous stories of his exploits during the war including wrangling for treats from American servicemen and ahem, ‘acquiring’ various provisions from Liverpool docks. Other mischief as a boy included a prank which resulted in Owen breaking his leg. He was carried home by his brother Billy and placed on a chair at the dining table, both of them too afraid to admit the incident to their parents. Owen’s mother soon realised something was wrong and he was taken to hospital for treatment. This being in the days before the NHS, it took 2 years for the family to pay the medical bills.
As a young man of 18, Owen was required to undertake national service, a portion of which was spent in Germany, his duties included guarding imprisoned war criminals and acting as driver to a captain. The driving skills that Owen acquired during his service stood him in good stead and after his discharge from the army allowed him to take employment with a business called Wrights Brothers who were involved in demolition and salvage. Owen’s role included the driving and operation of heavy plant and equipment all around the country. Owen was retrospectively proud of one particular commission, the removal of Liverpool’s overhead railway. He felt that in some small part he had contributed to what would later become the regeneration of Liverpool’s waterfront and ultimately result in achieving World Heritage status.
When Owen was 21 he met 17 year old Lillian Styles and was immediately smitten. They met at a darts match where Lil’ let him win the game so as not to bruise his ego. Lil’ recalls Owen setting the curtains twitching in her street when he came to collect her in a white convertible E type Jaguar. Very smooth.
Owen and Lil’ were married for 61 years and were together for 64 years overall. Early married life was spent in Liverpool and 3 children soon came along. During this period Owen changed jobs and took a driving role with Bents Brewery delivering beer to pubs all over Merseyside and in doing so, developed an encyclopaedic knowledge of the city. As you might imagine, working for a brewery helped to make Owen even more popular amongst friends and family due to a steady supply of discounted beer. One of the hazards Owen encountered in this job was avoiding semi feral cats kept by landlords to control the rat population in their cellars.
In 1969 the family relocated to Penketh near Warrington to the home where Owen lived until his death and Lil’ still resides. The move was very positive for the family, the house being much more comfortable and spacious and the environment safe and fun for the children. Owen installed a small swimming pool in the garden for the children which made them the envy of the neighbourhood.
Soon after the move Owen bought a Volkswagen campervan and the family enjoyed holidays together on the continent including tours of the French and Italian Riviera. On one holiday whilst driving along the coastal road to a Volkswagen dealer to replace the smashed windscreen, with a sheer drop to the sea below on one side, Owen, wearing just a pair of shorts, and to the great alarm of the family suddenly began yelping and slapping his groin, he screeched to a halt an jumped out. A wasp had flown up Owen’s shorts! A lifelong mistrust of wasps followed.
In 1974 the family embarked on a great adventure by emigrating to Adelaide in South Australia. Ultimately the family chose to return to the UK but made the most of their time there treating it as a working holiday and enjoyed trips in the campervan into the outback and recall swimming in billabongs and marvelling at the night sky in the southern hemisphere.
Upon returning to the UK, Owen worked for Bass Brewers until his retirement in 1991. During this employment Owen was elected to represent his workmates as a Transport and General Workers Union Shop Steward and Area Pensions Delegate. His experience as Pensions Delegate helped him prepare for his own retirement and allowed him to retire comfortably at the age of 55.
Prior to his retirement Owen was bitten by the fitness bug and took up jogging and cycling and reached a remarkable level of fitness. He maintained his fitness routines throughout his life completing a daily workout until the time of his final illness.
Also during this period Owen & Lil’ upgraded to caravanning and many more continental and UK touring holidays were enjoyed. The caravan was also stationed for periods in North Wales where Owen & Lil’ developed a love of hill walking and also in Northern France where it served as base for holidays to Euro Disney with the grandchildren.
During his retirement Owen & Lil’ returned to Australia for a holiday of a lifetime experience including a road trip to Ayres Rock and swimming with sharks off the Great Barrier Reef. Correction, Lil’ swam with sharks whilst Owen stayed in the boat with a video camera and fed the sharks thinking they were just big fish, to the great concern of the captain of the boat!
Owen also made use of his free time during retirement to read. He read every day to feed a keen interest in politics and current affairs, he read classic literature developing a preference for Shakespeare and also found that he loved poetry, challenging himself to commit his favourite poems to memory.
Everybody who knew Owen would agree that he was a very generous man. Materially generous yes, but also generous in terms of his willingness to help the people he loved and cared for, he was always happy to give his time, skills and experience. He undertook construction projects for his children, helped decorate their homes, repaired cars. He was the archetypal Dad’s taxi driver and bank of Dad. On a number of occasions he re-decorated the house whilst Lil’ holidayed in Canada or Scotland visiting her daughters. He supported friends and neighbours in many ways over many years including child care, DIY, airport runs, support during ill health, the list goes on.
This is how Owen showed people that he loved them. From making Lil’ her breakfast in the morning to taking her a night cap in bed at night, to reciting poetry to his daughter whilst she recovered from a serious accident and so on. Small acts of giving, small acts of kindness which added up to a lifetime of caring.
In later life Owen suffered ill health. He successfully overcame prostate cancer, he endured painful treatments for skin cancer, he underwent a successful hip replacement operation until finally he developed the lung cancer which brought his life to an end. Owen remained stoic throughout all of these trials, always optimistic, never complaining, always hopeful. His strength throughout these challenges was inspirational
Owen was a lifelong proud Liverpudlian. A scouser through and through. Proud of the people, proud of the city’s seafaring heritage, its culture and architecture and of course its footballing successes.
We will miss him dearly.
Donation left by Owen Jnr O'Brien
19/01/2022
