Annatina O'Brien

Annatina Mary (Tina) O'Brien, age 91, died gracefully at her home in Citrus Hills, Florida on August 2, 2014. Tina had been in the loving care of her family, especially her primary caregiver and son, Jonathan, for several months, assisted by the compassionate nurses of Citrus Hills Hospice.
Tina was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire on July 30, 1923, and lived in the New Hampshire sea coast area for most of her life. Her parents were Italian immigrants - although she spoke English by the time she entered first grade at St. Patrick's School, it was a second language. She graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1942, and found work as an operator, then a supervisor, at New England Bell Telephone Co. She embarked on a 59 year marriage for life to Robert V O'Brien, DMD in 1947, following his military service during World War II. They raised three children in Rye, New Hampshire, Tina the homemaker and sometimes office manager in her husband's dental practice.
Tina was a special person to all who met her: lovely, vivacious, intelligent, playful. She was a devout Roman Catholic. A skilled gardener, her effect on plants paralleled her impact on people - instilling life in abundance. She also perfected an American variant of Sicilian cuisine adapted from her mother's table, played a very competitive game of golf, and traversed the New England ski slopes right along with her children.
Later in life, she and Bob wintered in Florida and shifted summer residency to Puget Sound, Washington, home to two of her children. Her good taste and style were reflected in her homes and her couture. She leaves us with sunny memories and warm hearts.She is predeceased by her husband, Bob; her parents, Rose and Frank Cacciatore, and brothers Stephen and Dominic.
She is survived by her daughter, Kathyleen O'Brien; sons, Robert Jr. and Jonathan; and grandsons, Ian Monahan, and Bobby, Connor and Anthony O'Brien.
The family is planning a mass and memorial service in Rye, New Hampshire in October, 2014, with details to follow. We welcome donations in her memory to Hospice of Citrus County of the Nature Coast, P.O. Box 641270 Beverly Hills, FL 34464.