Damian O'Brien

Damian James O'Brien

"To die will be an awfully big adventure... I'll teach you how to jump on the wind's back, and then away we go!"

James Matthew Barrie

And so it was with Damian James O'Brien. He was born during the great Milwaukee blizzard of January 27, 1947, to James E. and Mary Marcella (Flannery) O'Brien; you could say that Damian came in like a lion, but in the end he left us like a lamb on March 26, 2025, after a life filled with sacrifice and service to others.

Damian was an educated man, not only through his studies at St. Norbert College, DePere, WI; UW Madison; and finally UW Eau Claire, but also through his life filled with fearless adventure fueled by his love of travel and his need to help others. The early 1970s found Damian in New York City, working with the Lincoln Hospital Collective delivering health care to the underserved population in the South Bronx along with drawing blood samples from children in the tenements to test for lead poisoning. When the medical experiment ended after two years, Damian drove a NYC taxi cab for two more years, transporting the likes of John Carradine, Ali McGraw, Etta James and Carly Simon.

Damian also became involved with the alliance known as the Young Lords, made up of young Puerto Rican men who supported their community with humanitarian assistance and civil rights action. Damian, it was said, was the only "honky" (Caucasian) in the group.

Damian returned to Wisconsin in the mid-1970s to finish his bachelor's degree at UW Eau Claire. He had managed to accrue a very eclectic, albeit remotely related, list of college credits by Spring, 1977, whereupon Damian's academic advisor commented, "O'Brien! You have enough for an English degree. Do you really want to graduate with this pile of crap?" Damian responded, "Yes! I just want to get the hell out of here!" Ironically, O'Brien was hired by the university to fill a temporary position in the Admission's office. Thirty years later, in 2007, Damian retired from that office.

Throughout his career, Damian put the good of the students first. Nothing was more important to him than advocating for students, whether it entailed arguing for the admission of someone who, on paper, shouldn't make the cut; or referring students to a different campus if that was a better fit according to that student's career goals. Damian followed up with those students to make sure they were able to enroll at another campus, or had a plan to move forward with their education. He became friends with a number of such students, and they remained close throughout Damian's lifetime.

After Damian's retirement, he devoted himself to the care of his aging parents; father Jim, who died in late 2007; and mother Mary, who passed away in late 2009. Additionally, he and a cohort of like-minded people formed a committee to establish an alternative news source in the area. After months of planning and hard work, the Chippewa Valley Post, an online newspaper, was the result.

Damian was also vitally interested in promoting progressive candidates for public office. He spent hours and days knocking on doors, distributing literature, and engaging voters in conversations and debate, never afraid to express his deeply held opinions in his easy, respectful style. He participated in peaceful protests against the wars around the world, against oligarchy, and for justice and equality for all people.

Travel was another of Damian's passions, and he was a creative and enthusiastic traveler. He flew to France and also to Brazil to participate in weddings of friends, and took road trips west to the Rocky Mountains and later to Alaska with his nephew whom he raised. In 2013, Damian and wife Jo embarked on a six week car camping trip around the southern and eastern United States to celebrate Jo's successful conclusion to her cancer treatment. Florida, New York, Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington and California were favorite travel destinations. The last road trip Damian and Jo were able to take was for a family destination wedding in Glacier National Park, Montana, in 2021.

In his last days in the hospital, when the nurse came into his room to deliver his medications, O'Brien, who had not spoken for hours, said, "Get the bartender". When the CNAs came to give the comatose patient a bed bath, he quoted Dorothy Parker, clearly saying, "What fresh hell is this?" Even in that hazy space between worlds, Damian's wit came through.

Damian is survived by his wife Jo Rudrud, Altoona; nephew Terry (Jamie) Weaver and grandniece Cierra, Eau Claire; brother Christopher O'Brien, Eau Claire; step children and grandchildren Jason (Rachel) Rudrud, Deanna and Harper, Honolulu, HI; Jana (Richard) LaPlante, Riley and Jordy, DePere, WI; and Jerrod (Dawn) Rudrud, Marshfield, WI. He is also survived by numerous cousins, sisters in law, nieces and nephews, and many, many good friends, who were like family to him. Preceding Damian in death were his grandparents, parents, sister Maureen Weaver, aunts, uncles cousins and a host of deeply loved friends, who are all now having an enthusiastic and joyful reunion.

"So come with me where dreams are born and time is never planned..." We will find him by following the "second star to the right and straight on 'til morning."

James Matthew Barrie

A celebration of life will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 10, 2025 at Stokes, Prock & Mundt Funeral Chapel, 535 S. Hillcrest Parkway, Altoona. Visitation will be from 11:00 a.m. until time of service.

Cremation Society of Wisconsin, Altoona is assisting the family. Online condolences may be shared at www.cremationsociety-wi.com.