Warren O'Brien

Warren O'Brien, 86, of Fergus Falls, died Thursday, June 7, at his home in Woodland Heights. With the help of Lakeland Hospice he won his short battle with leukemia as he chose the ending under his terms and conditions. The son of Guy and Blanche (Cook) O'Brien , Warren was born August 22, l920, on the family homestead east of Blackduck Lake in Beltrami County. He attended school in Hines and Blackduck, Minnesota, and as a young man growing up during the depression, worked as a lumberjack, trapper, part-time hunting guide in addition to working on the family and area farms. During these years and throughout his life he had a passion for baseball. He had many fond memories of playing American Legion and town team baseball with his brothers Ray and Lowell. In l942 he joined the Marines where he became a staff sergeant and spent l942-1944 defending Midway Island during World War II. He was very proud of being a Marine. On June l7, l944, he married Phyllis Squires of Blackduck while at home on leave. Upon his honorable discharge from the Marines in January of l946 he returned to civilian life and began his career as a Conservation Officer. His first assignment was in Two Harbors, Minnesota, where he was stationed from l947-l952. He tranferred to Fergus Falls in the fall of 1952 where he was the area "game warden" until his retirement in l980. His early years in Fergus were spent working with area supervisor Reg "Dutch" Holland. Warren was a soft-spoken man and warden who rarely raised his voice. He believed that you could often teach a lesson more effectively by giving a warning for a minor violation the first time which would, in turn, encourage people to be on the side of law enforcement and thus become better conservationists. He was most at home in the woods or on the water and was a skilled outdoorsman. Flying in to a frozen lake on Minnesota's North Shore to fish lake trout with his pilot friend and fellow warden Billy Richards or running a trap-line in sub-zero weather was heaven for him. He lived the amazing stories he told. He loved his family deeply and taught them to be kind and compassionate. Children seemed to naturally migrate to him and he had no problem being seen pushing his grandaughters and nieces in a stroller around a mall. Warren was a life member of the Fergus Fall Fish and Game Club, the Elks, VFW Post 612 (where he took pride in being the oldest living marine), the Otter Tail County Conservation Club along with serving many years as a volunteer Firearms Safety Instructor. Warren will be lovingly remembered by Phyllis, his wife of 63 years; two sons, Tom (Stephanie) of Pickerel Lake; Mike (Stacey) of Spicer; grandchildren Staci (Jim) Korkowski of Conroe, Texas; Keely (Clay) McNerney of Alexandria, Virginia; Kasey, Matt and Dallen of Spicer; brothers Ray (Vivian) and Lowell (Marilyn) of Bemidji; sisters Maureen (Ed) Quimby of Tenstrike; Kay (Bud) Anderson of Blackduck; and many wonderful nieces and nephews. Preceding him in death were his parents; brothers Harold and Keith; a sister Karen (Junior) Pater; and an infant sister, Lilas. The family has requested that memorials be sent to Lakeland Hospice, 120 South Union, Fergus Falls, MN 56537. Service: A memorial service for family and friends will be held at 2 p.m. Friday, June 22, at St. Anne's Catholic Church, 388 1st Street NE, Blackduck, Minnesota. Burial: Lakeview Cemetery, rural Blackduck. Funeral Home: Olson Funeral Home, Fergus Falls Florist: Netzer Floral, Bemidji, Phone:800-352-4249,website: netzerfloral.com