Maureen O’Brien passed away on September 5, 2025, at the age of 62 just a few days shy of her birthday. She was born in Manhattan and was raised in Bronx, New York. She lived briefly in Texas before returning to the northeast where she spent much of her adult life in Massachusetts, living in Palmer, Grafton, Clinton, Arlington, and Woburn.

The daughter of John Joseph O’Brien and Celia Elizabeth Fuertes O'Brien, she was proud of both her Irish and Dominican heritage.

Maureen attended Boston University, where she earned a degree in Public Relations, but found she had a deeper calling for the Human Resources field, particularly in training. She worked for Staples for many years as part of the North American Delivery division’s HR team, and took great pride in being able to use her bilingual skills to explain complicated benefits information to Spanish-speaking workers.

Dubbed the “goddess of song and frolic” by a co-worker, Maureen was the very definition of

“social extrovert” and loved spending time with and around people. She loved to read, to crochet, cook and bake for friends and family, flowers, the season of fall, to watch old movies, and to spend time at the beach. But she especially loved spending time with her grandchildren when she had the chance. She also loved to laugh, appreciated great comedy, and had a deep appreciation for folk music and musical theatre, and was an accomplished dancer in her youth. She had a beautiful singing voice and would break into song quite often. Extremely smart and well read, she had little tolerance for fools, and was not afraid to tell them so.

Maureen will be deeply missed by those who loved her.

She is survived by her children: Cassandra, Andrew, Juliana, and Diana, her grandchildren:Maya, Owen, Adrian, Rowan, Douglas, Alanna, Amelia and Cayde. 

She is also survived by her nephews, Jeremiah and Joshua, many other cousins, and her beloved cats, Willow and Cali.

Maureen will be greatly missed by Carol, Vinny, Danny; Sherry and her son Aiden; Margaret and her daughters, Renee and Katina, whom she considered a part of her family. And by her many, many friends.

Maureen was predeceased by her parents, and by her sister, Jacqueline.

A memorial service for Maureen will be held on Saturday October 4 at 12:30 pm (guests can begin arriving at 12:00 noon) at the Fellowship Hall at First Parish Church of Stow & Acton Unitarian Universalist, On the common at the intersection of Rts. 117 & 62, 353 Great Road, Stow, MA 01775. 

Light refreshments will be provided after the service and space to visit until 4 pm. 

Please feel free to wear something that is purple or pink, as those were Maureen’s favorite colors. 

We will be offering a Zoom link for the service for this who cannot attend in person. If you wish to receive the Zoom link, please send an email to elsaelliott@gmail.com In accordance with Maureen’s wishes, the scattering of her ashes will happen at a later date on Cape Cod. 

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the National Breast Cancer Foundation https://www.nationalbreastcan… or the

Northeast Animal Shelter https://www.mspca.org/adoptio….

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