Candles in the Grotto
Joseph F. O’Brien, a longtime leader in human resources and athletics at the University of Notre Dame, died Saturday (Jan. 23) at his home. He was 95.
Born and raised in Philadelphia, O’Brien attended Cornell University, where he was a member of the basketball team, but left early to serve in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II as a gun captain on the aircraft carrier USS Midway. After the war, he resumed his studies at Notre Dame, graduating in 1949.
O’Brien worked in personnel positions at Oliver Chilled Plow Works and Whirlpool Corp. before returning to his alma mater in 1958 as director of personnel, overseeing staff policies, procedures and benefits packages. He joined the Department of Athletics in 1976, serving as an associate athletic director handling budgets, transportation and ticketing. He retired in 1993.