Margaret Viola (Thomas) O'Brien

Obituary On November 5th, 2016 Margaret (Peg) V. O'Brien or "Aunt Peggy" as she was known to her family ended her battle with cancer by quietly moving from this world into heaven. There were no headlines in the newspaper, nor was there an announcer on TV speaking to the event. Nevertheless, her passing was felt like an emotional earthquake in the hearts of her large extended family who all possess memories of the many family events she hosted through the years. Margaret was born to parents, Lloyd Thomas and Viola Moody in Puyallup, WA. Her passion for family began in her early years where we found pictures of her doing fun things with friends and family like a "Posture Race" (where all the girls raced each other while keeping a book flat on their head). She finished high school and married her first husband Sam Allen. Sam was an avid fisherman and during her marriage to him she turned fishing trips into family fun where we find her and several ladies all straining to each hold a giant King Salmon. She was married to Sam for 16 years before he passed away on a fishing trip. After his death in 1967 and she decided she needed to go back to college at Tacoma Community College (TCC). It was there at TCC that she met the new love of her life, John O'Brien. They were married in November of 1970. Using her education she began her professional career in accounting and later she became one of the first escrow officers to be sworn in for Washington State. She was a hard working woman who worked until January 2016. While her work was important to her, building family traditions remained her passion. She heavily promoted family get togethers using "family Sundays" for many years to gather the family and key friends together to celebrate life events. Birthdays were always called out, anniversaries would not go unnoticed and notable events like coming home or leaving the area were always a time to celebrate. One of her goals was to keep Hallmark cards in business as she never seemed to forget to send a card if you couldn't be there in person. All in all she was truly the glue that held the family together. Christmas was a particularly noteworthy event. Family members were strongly encouraged to buy for all the kids. Days before Christmas the families would begin dropping off presents to be opened on Christmas day. Her personal goal was to ensure that her own Christmas list was all inclusive and Uncle John was constantly working hard to get the list done each year as the big day approached. As if having lots of presents to was not enough she also insisted the day could not be complete without a full blown Christmas Breakfast, followed by opening gifts and then a sit down lunch for all who came. So by the big day the children would walk into Uncle John's and Aunt Peggy's house to find a huge Christmas tree with piles and piles of presents underneath the tree. Opening the presents was not a free for all! Instead it was a long drawn out event as the entire family shared in the excitement of finding out which one was theirs and then pausing to watch each person opened their gift. To the very end she was focused on Christmas and one of the last conversations she had with her niece Patty was about how she needed her help to get working on that list immediately so she could be ready for Christmas. Christmas will never be quite the same without her, but the memories that she planted will live on in the family for generations to come. Finally no words about Margaret O'Brien would be complete without noting that she had two other roles in the family. She was a "Giver" and a "Peacemaker". She constantly looked at needs as opportunities to give help to someone. There were so many of us who bumped into the trials of life only to find her standing beside us trying to give us whatever help was needed, whether giving her time to move into a new house, providing paint for that effort, a small cash gift for a crisis or just coming over to provide meals when someone was sick. She was always there when needs were known. Her other role was "Peacemaker". She could never understand the concept of holding grudges for any offense and was constantly encouraging family members to reconcile when there were differences. Peg's siblings Patricia, Guy, Phil, Thelma and Jimmy have all passed away but she is survived by her husband John and many nieces and nephews who will all have wonderful memories of her. For those who wish to pay their last respects the following opportunities are available: - November 17th 12-5PM: Viewing at Gaffney Funeral Home, 1002 S. Yakima Ave, Tacoma, WA - November 18th 10-11AM: A second viewing at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, 7112 South 12th St, Tacoma, WA - November 18th 11AM-Noon: Memorial Service with reception lunch following at St Charles Borromeo Catholic Church - November 18th Following the reception there will be a graveside service at Fox Island Cemetery In lieu of flower contributions the family is requesting donations be provided to St Charles Catholic Church for the "Grief Ministry" or the "Holiday Basket Program".