Margaret O'Brien

Margaret O’Brien, a longtime political force for Trumbull County Democrats, died about 4:30 p.m. Christmas Day, according to her son, former state Rep. Michael J. O’Brien. She was 94.

Margaret O’Brien was the first woman elected to Warren City Council. After two failed attempts running for council, she broke the boy-club barrier in her next race and began serving in 1972. After 10 years on council, O’Brien was elected as county clerk of courts, and held that office until she retired in 2004.

O’Brien was born May 6, 1928, in Yonkers, N.Y. She received her nursing certification and enlisted in the U.S. Women’s Army Corps in 1948. The Korean War broke out and in 1950, she was assigned to Osaka Army Hospital in Osaka, Japan.

It was during her service in 1951 in Osaka that she met Francis J. O’Brien, a Marine sergeant from Warren. They married in 1952 in Osaka, Japan, before settling in Warren. Frank O’Brien died in 2008.

“My mother and father were married 55 years (two months shy of 56 years), and my father was disabled for 50 years with multiple sclerosis,” Mike O’Brien said.

They had seven children — Colleen, Kathleen, Michael, Patrick, Terrence, Frank and Margaret.

During her 90th birthday party in 2018, various local politicians talked about O’Brien’s influence on their careers, helping numerous Democrats get elected to local and county offices. She especially was hailed as opening the doors for women in politics.

O’Brien’s daughter, Margaret March said at the party, “She loved to help new politicians get started. They still come to her for advice.”

O’Brien once said, “Women are an asset. They are more inquisitive, more detail-oriented. We do more research. And we are suspicious.”

Services for O’Brien are pending. More about her career will be published in the Tribune Chronicle on Tuesday.