Joseph O. O’Brien ’55

Joseph was born March 11, 1933, in Memphis, Tenn., to Florence Orgill and Thomas John O’Brien. He died March 29, 2017, at the King’s Daughters and Sons Home in Bartlett, Tenn.

He was a graduate of Pentecost Garrison School for Boys in Memphis and the Taft School in Watertown, Conn. He graduated from Princeton with a degree in mechanical engineering.

In 1958, he joined T.J. O’Brien Engineering, founded by his father in 1922. Joseph was president and CEO from 1958 to 2002, and sold the business in 2002. He continued doing engineering work with BeaconMedaes, a global supplier of medical air and vacuum equipment, for local and regional hospitals.

Joseph was past president of the Memphis chapter of the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers. He was a member of the American Society of Chemical Engineers, St. John’s Episcopal Church, the Rotary Club, and the Memphis Country Club. Joseph was a past president of the Princeton Alumni Association and a member and former president of the Memphis Hunt and Polo Club. He was actively involved on the advisory board of the King’s Daughters and Sons Home, where he raised money for more than 25 years.

Joseph is survived by his wife, Leonora Horgan O’Brien, and son Edward Orgill O’Brien.