Thomas Francis and Ruth Reardon O'Brien

Thomas Francis and Ruth Reardon O'Brien
Born
  • Thomas Francis O'Brien
    (1929-01-28)January 28, 1929
    Worcester, U.S.
  • Ruth Mary Reardon
    (1931-12-16)December 16, 1931
    Worcester, U.S.
Died
  • Thomas
    December 9, 2024(2024-12-09) (aged 95)
    Brookline, Massachusetts, U.S.
  • Ruth
    December 12, 2024(2024-12-12) (aged 92)
    Brookline, Massachusetts, U.S.
Known for
Children6 including Conan O'Brien

Thomas Francis O'Brien (January 28, 1929 – December 9, 2024), a professor and microbiologist, and Ruth Reardon O'Brien (née Reardon; December 16, 1931 – December 12, 2024), an attorney, were an American couple who were the parents of television host and comedian Conan O'Brien.

Thomas was a microbiologist at Harvard Medical School who was known for his work in antimicrobial resistance; he was also the co-founder of the World Health Organization's Collaborating Center for Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance and the creator of the medical database WHONET. Ruth was the second female lawyer to become a partner at Ropes & Gray; there, she was an attorney for its real estate department.

Early lives and education

Thomas Francis O'Brien in 1946

Thomas Francis O'Brien was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, to Mr. and Mrs. Francis N. O'Brien on January 28, 1929. He graduated from Mary E. Wells High School in 1949; he then received his bachelor's degree in classics at the College of the Holy Cross in 1950 before graduating from Harvard Medical School with a full scholarship,[1] and finishing his residency at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in 1954. After graduating, he had a fellowship at Cambridge University before he then served as the captain of the U.S. Army Medical Corps for 2 years in San Antonio.[2][3]

Ruth Mary Reardon was also born in Worcester, on December 16, 1931; she was the youngest of the 3 children of Mr. and Mrs. James F. Reardon. She attended South High School and received her bachelor's degree from Vassar College in 1953.[2] She then attended Yale Law School, where she was one of the only four women in her class before graduating in 1956.[4][5]

The College of the Holy Cross, the school Thomas O'Brien and the Reardon brothers attended together.

Ruth's brothers had been classmates and friends with Thomas at the College of the Holy Cross. During a visit to the Reardon family home, he met Ruth for the first time.[6][7] The two would later marry at the Blessed Sacrament Roman Catholic Church on August 23, 1958.[2]

Careers

Thomas

Thomas was a microbiologist and an associate professor at Harvard Medical School.[8] He was also the first director of the infectious diseases division at Brigham and Women's Hospital.[9] In 1985, he co-founded the World Health Organization's Collaborating Center for Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance with Dr. John Sterling.[10] In 1989, he and Sterling released the medical site WHONET,[11][12] a database tracking antibiotic resistance.[13] He retired in 2019.[14]

Ruth

In 1956, Ruth started out as the law clerk of Chief Justice Raymond Sanger Wilkins at the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.[15] She held the position until 1957, when she became a real estate attorney at Ropes & Gray.[14] She stopped working in 1958, but later returned to the firm in 1971.[16] In 1978, Ruth became Ropes & Gray's second female partner.[17][18] She retired in 1996.[8]

Family

The O'Briens were of Irish heritage,[19] and they had 6 children, 4 sons and 2 daughters:[20][21]

  • Neal O'Brien (born 1960), a lawyer
  • Luke O'Brien (born 1961), a lawyer
  • Conan Christopher O'Brien (born 1963), television host and comedian
  • Kate B. O'Brien (born 1965), an actress
  • Jane C. O'Brien (born 1967), a television screenwriter
  • Justin O'Brien (born 1972), a lawyer

Deaths

The O'Briens died in their Brookline home 3 days apart from each other; Thomas on December 9, 2024, aged 95, and Ruth on December 12, 2024, aged 92.[22][23][24] Their joint mass was held on December 18, 2024, in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, with an obituary released by the Bell-O'Dea Funeral Home.[25]

References

  1. ↑ Thomas, Carly (December 15, 2024). "Conan O'Brien's Parents Die Three Days Apart From One Another". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 "Ruth Reardon, Vassar Alumna, Bride of Officer; Wed in Worcester to Capt. Thomas O'Brien of Medical Corps (Published 1958)". August 24, 1958. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
  3. ↑ "Dr. Thomas O'Brien, visionary who addressed dangers of antimicrobial resistance, dies at 95 - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Archived from the original on January 16, 2025. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
  4. ↑ "Ruth O'Brien, who broke ground for women attorneys seeking work-life balance, dies at 92 - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Archived from the original on December 20, 2024. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
  5. ↑ Thomas, Carly (December 15, 2024). "Conan O'Brien's Parents Die Three Days Apart From One Another". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
  6. ↑ Ahmed, Aneesa (December 15, 2024). "Conan O'Brien's parents pass away days apart from each other". NME. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Conan O'Brien Parents, Who Were Married for 66 Years, Die 3 Days Apart from One Another". People.com. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
  8. 1 2 Schmidt, Audrey (March 15, 2026). "All About Conan O'Brien's Parents, Dr. Thomas O'Brien and Attorney Ruth O'Brien". People. Retrieved May 12, 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ↑ "Late night star and Mass. native Conan O'Brien's parents die just days apart". Yahoo News. December 13, 2024. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
  10. ↑ "WHONET About". whonet.org. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
  11. ↑ Scott, H. Morgan; Acuff, Gary; Bergeron, Gilles; Bourassa, Megan W.; Simjee, Shabbir; Singer, Randall S. (March 29, 2019). "Antimicrobial resistance in a One Health context: exploring complexities, seeking solutions, and communicating risks". Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 1441 (1): 3–7. doi:10.1111/nyas.14057. ISSN 1749-6632. PMC 6850615. PMID 30924541.
  12. ↑ "Under the Radar | Harvard Medicine Magazine". magazine.hms.harvard.edu. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
  13. ↑ Coleman, Ryan (December 13, 2024). "Conan O'Brien's parents, pioneers in medicine and law, die within 3 days of each other". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
  14. 1 2 Parkel, Inga (December 13, 2024). "Conan O'Brien's parents die three days apart after 66 years of marriage". Yahoo News. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
  15. ↑ "Conan O'Brien's Mom Passes Away Just Days After His Dad". Yahoo Entertainment. December 13, 2024. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
  16. ↑ "Obituary for Ruth R. O'Brien at Bell O'Dea Funeral Home". www.bellodeafuneralhome.com. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
  17. ↑ McRady, Rachel (December 13, 2024). "Conan O'Brien Parents, Who Were Married for 66 Years, Die 3 Days Apart from One Another".
  18. ↑ Riley, NEal (December 13, 2024). "Conan O'Brien's parents die 3 days apart; both were pioneers in Boston - CBS Boston". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
  19. ↑ O'Shea, Kerry (December 13, 2024). "Conan O'Brien's parents - "very proud of their Irish heritage" - die three days apart". IrishCentral.com. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
  20. ↑ Marrison, Erica (May 5, 2024). "Conan O'Brien's 5 Siblings: All About His Brothers and Sisters". People. Retrieved May 13, 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  21. ↑ "Inside the Lives of Conan O'Brien's Five Siblings: From Law to Hollywood - Spain´s No.1 English Speaking Radio Station | Spectrum FM". January 29, 2026. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
  22. ↑ "Conan O'Brien's parents Thomas and Ruth, who inspired numerous gags, die three days apart". Los Angeles Times. December 13, 2024. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
  23. ↑ Correal, Annie (December 13, 2024). "Conan O'Brien's Parents Die 3 Days Apart". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
  24. ↑ "Conan O'Brien's parents, who were married for over 60 years, die 3 days apart". TODAY.com. December 13, 2024. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
  25. ↑ Moore, Julia (December 20, 2024). "Conan O'Brien Pays Tribute to His 'Heroic' Mother and 'Dreamer' Father After They Died Within Days of Each Other". People. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.