James O'Brien, 88; crunched numbers for IRS for 33 years
When Mary O'Brien received a complete set of sterling silver as a gift from a company her husband, James F., was auditing, she was delighted.
Mr. O'Brien, a young Internal Revenue Service agent auditing some of Worcester's largest businesses, including the former Norton Co., was less than pleased.
"He said, 'I can't accept that.' And he sent it back," Mary O'Brien said.
Mr. O'Brien, a World War II veteran and IRS agent for 33 years, died Tuesday at Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester because of complications from an infection. He was 88.
Mr. O'Brien grew up in Somerville and graduated in 1938 from Somerville High School. He then worked at a grocery store his brother managed in the city, until he joined the Army in 1942.
He served during World War II in the Pacific theater aboard a B-29 stationed in Guam. He married his longtime sweetheart, Mary (Burns), in 1943.
He attended Bentley School of Business in Waltham, where he received an associate's degree in 1948, and later earned his credentials as a certified public accountant. Mr. O'Brien continued to work in accounting for federal and state tax agencies for more than 40 years.
In the mid-1950s, the IRS transferred him from Somerville to its Worcester office. He moved his family from Somerville to a house on Mill Street in Worcester overlooking a pond.
He lived there until his death, taking in the placid view from his back porch, where he often smoked cigars and read. In the winter, he would shovel snow from a patch of ice on the pond and skate.
Through the 1960s and 1970s, Mr. O'Brien mentored and taught fledgling IRS agents as well as accounting courses at Worcester Junior College. He also participated in the Toastmasters Club in Worcester and was a member of Greendale Retired Men's Club.
Mr. O'Brien was a member of St. Charles Borromeo Church in Worcester and attended Mass every Sunday.
In his 70s and 80s, he enrolled in computer courses at Worcester State College. In his retirement, he continued to work for the accounting firm Greenberg & Rosenblatt in Worcester until he was in his 80s.
Mr. O'Brien loved boxing, golf, and reading the sports pages. He enjoyed the music of the Glenn Miller Band, and his favorite song was "Danny Boy," which he would often belt out at parties, according to his granddaughter Megan Woolhouse, a reporter at the Globe.
Mr. O'Brien also loved to engage in dinner table debate with family members. An avid reader and political conservative, he would frequently ask his children provocative questions like "Are you a raging, crazy Democrat?" just to provoke discussion.
"He was always the devil's advocate, just to hear what you had to say," said his son, James Jr.. of Somers, Conn. "He really wanted to hear what his kids had to say."
In addition to his wife of 65 years, granddaughter, and son, Mr. O'Brien leaves two daughters, Maureen Woolhouse of Worcester and Sharon of West Boylston; and six other grandchildren.
A funeral Mass will be said today at 10 a.m. in St. Charles Borromeo Church. Burial will follow in Rural Cemetery in Worcester.
Globe correspondent Casey D. Ramsdell contributed to this obituary. 