2023Tree

Lois Bird O'Brien, a longtime Davis resident, died among family in Greenbrae on June 28, 2003. She was 84. She was born on Dec. 16, 1918, in Los Angeles to John Williamson Bird and Birdie Gilmore Bird. Shortly afterward, the family moved to Fortuna, where her sister Elinor was born. After graduating from Fortuna High School at age 16, she attended Humboldt State College and transferred to UC Berkeley, where she earned a bachelor's degree in rhetoric. At Cal, she met C. Bickford O'Brien, a graduate student in history. They married on May 18, 1940, in Berkeley. In the late 1940s the couple moved to Davis, where they reared three children. According to her family, she liked to recall when, upon looking for a house in Davis in the early 1950s, she and her husband were advised against buying a house in town by a loan agent, who said Davis had no future. They bought anyway. Bick O'Brien settled into teaching history at what was then the College of Agriculture at Davis. She was involved with Davis Parent Nursery School, Girl and Boy scouts and PTA. She was a lifelong member of the League of Women Voters, serving two terms as president in the 1960s. She also served on numerous boards and advisory committees, including nearly 20 years on the Davis Planning Commission. She and her husband were also great supporters of International House, Davis. In 1960, she was recommended by UCD's first tenured woman faculty member, Celeste Turner Wright, to teach a class on a "temporary emergency basis" in the department of English, dramatic art and speech. She stayed for 24 years, encouraging independent thinking among her students and leading popular rhetoric classes. In addition to her community work, she was a lifelong member of the Christian Science Church, serving in many capacities locally and nationally. Looking back on her travels to Europe and Russia with her family, years of teaching at UCD and of fulfilling public service, she often commented on how wonderful it was that a country girl from Fortuna could have had such an amazing life, her family said. She is survived by her son Edward O'Brien or Davis, daughters Barbara Wagstaff of Berkeley and Margaret Rogers in Greenbrae, and her two grandchildren, Peter and Laurel O'Brien of Davis. At the request of the deceased, there will be no public memorial service. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to International House, 10 College Park, Davis, CA 95616; or the League of Women Voters, P.O. Box 72674, Davis, CA 95616. Reminiscences may be sent to the family c/o Ed O'Brien, 1501 W. Eighth St., Davis CA 95616, or to obriens4@sbcglobal.net.