Joseph J. O'Brien

Joseph J. O'Brien Jr., a Scranton attorney, died Thursday in the Mercy Hospital Hospice after a courageous battle with cancer. His wife is the former Judith Beverly Weyant. They celebrated their 36th wedding anniversary March 25. Born Aug. 13, 1946, in Scranton, son of the late Dr. Joseph J. and Mary O'Connor O'Brien, he received his degree from Wheeling Jesuit College in 1968, studying for a year at Loyola University in Rome, Italy. After graduating, he served in the Army from 1968 to 1971, earning the U.S. Army Commendation Medal in 1971, in Munich, Germany, where he met his wife, Judy. Following his military service, he earned his law degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1974 and was admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar that year. He returned to Scranton in 1974 to join the law firm of Casey, Haggerty & McDonnell, now Haggerty, McDonnell, O'Brien & Hinton, where he practiced real estate, commercial and public finance law for more than 30 years. He was a member of the Lackawanna County and Pennsylvania Bar Associations, served on the boards of St. Michael's School from 1999 to 2005, and the Specialty Group from 1986 to 2000, and was a trustee of the Scranton State General Hospital. He was also a volunteer on the Montage Mountain Ski Patrol for 14 years. A dedicated and beloved husband and father, he was happiest when surrounded by his wife, Judy, their four children, daughter- and sons-in-law and grandchildren sharing dinner on the back porch, on a family vacation in South Carolina, or golfing with his family and friends. Also surviving are a son, Joseph J. O'Brien III and wife, Mary Virginia, Clarks Summit; three daughters, Jocelyn O'Brien Hawkins and husband, Harold Hawkins, West Hartford, Conn.; Erin O'Brien Semmens and husband, Dan Semmens, Missoula, Mont.; and Susannah O'Brien Najdek and husband, Vlatko Najdek, Broomall; three grandchildren, Mary, Kate and Sadie O'Brien; many nieces and nephews and numerous cousins; two brothers, Daniel O'Brien, Scranton; and Timothy O'Brien, Waverly; and a sister, Mary McDonnell, Dunmore. He was also preceded in death by a sister, Erin Graham. The funeral will be Saturday from the Lawrence E. Young Funeral Home, 418 S. State St., Clarks Summit, with Mass of Christian Burial at 9:30 a.m. in Our Lady of the Snows Church, 301 S. State St., Clarks Summit. Interment, private at the convenience of the family. Friends may call today, 4 to 7 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Scranton Preparatory School; the University of Scranton; or to the Mercy Hospital Hospice Unit.