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John William "Jack" O'Brien

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Service: Memorial service at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, July 28, at First Presbyterian Church, Harrison.

John William (Jack) O’Brien, 86, passed away on Friday, July 13 (2012) at Hillcrest Home.

Jack was born on Nov. 9, 1925, in Chicago, Ill., to William James O’Brien and Drena Louise (Johnson). He spent his early childhood in Kenosha, Wis. At the age of six, Jack moved with his family to a farm near Harrison. His favorite childhood memories were of climbing the bluffs and swimming in the creeks with his sister and cousin. He moved into town when he was 12 years old and graduated from Harrison High School in 1943.

During World War II, Jack served with the Army in the Philippines. After the war, he attended college in Chicago and graduated with a B.S. in electrical engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology in 1952. Returning to Harrison, Jack married Rosalie Phyllis Phifer in 1954. They were married for 45 years until Rosalie’s death in 2000.

Jack worked in the die casting industry, eventually becoming a plant manager for Arkansas Die Casting. In 1972, he founded Shamrock Engineering, now Shamrock Automation, which he owned and managed until his retirement. During his career Jack was granted multiple patents for his inventions.

Jack and Rosalie raised their children in a loving, supportive home. As long-time members of the First Presbyterian Church, both Jack and Rosalie were active in the choir and in youth group leadership. Jack was a man with many interests and talents. He volunteered as a Boy Scout troop leader, even before his children were born. He enjoyed playing bass guitar for community theater productions and with jazz bands. He hiked the hills and valleys of the Ozark Mountains long before it became fashionable. He also painted pictures of his favorite landscapes.

To fulfill a lifelong dream, Jack built a helicopter from a kit, which he then had to learn to fly. In 1998, he moved to Pilot Knob, into a passive solar home of his own design. Jack was fascinated by non-traditional ways of looking at life, and an educational center for holistic medicine is named in his honor. Jack was ever the optimist, always finding a better way to solve a problem and firmly convinced of the power of love to change the universe.

Jack is survived by his children, Tim O’Brien (Mary) and Jeanie Wiesner (Eric); his sister, Drena Lee Heizer; and his grandchildren: Elizabeth and Seth O’Brien, and Carol and Michael Wiesner.

A memorial service will be held at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, July 28, at the First Presbyterian Church, 220 North Arbor Drive, Harrison, AR.

Online condolences may be left at www.rollerfuneralhomes.com.



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