O'BRIEN, Barry Dorothy O'Brien, Barry Dorothy, age 73, peacefully met her Lord on Saturday, March 9th surrounded by her family. Barry was the oldest of three children of Dorothy Exall Flippen and Newton Gates Flippen, Jr. of Dallas. Barry embodied the virtues of generosity and love of neighbor. She had a loving and caring nature, evidenced by the fact that she never met a stranger. She was the first person to offer a kind word or friendly bit of advice and could light up a room with her smile and her laugh. Barry was a devoted daughter, sister, mother, grandmother and friend. A native Dallasite, Barry graduated from Hillcrest High School and the University of Texas at Austin. While being a homemaker for her six children was her full-time job, she also enjoyed volunteering her talents in many other areas. Barry was an early leader of the Dallas chapter of La Leche League. She helped many women find their confidence as new mothers, and made many lifelong friends in the process. Barry had a passion for early childhood education and eventually homeschooled several of her younger children. Her dedication to offering support to children and their families was evident in all that she did, whether it was in assisting other families with after school care, taking loving care of aging relatives, serving as a consultant for Discovery Toys, offering invaluable advice to her daughters and sons (and daughters-in-law and sons-in-law) as they became parents, or in sharing her imagination and curiosity with her grandchildren at every visit. Barry was preceded in death by her sister, Cynthia Flippen Oliver, and her parents. Barry is survived by her sister, Dorothy Flippen Bussa and survived by her children and their spouses Kellie O'Brien Wieczorek and husband Michael, Barry O'Brien Fryar and husband Jeffery, Timothy O'Brien and wife Stephanie, Kevin O'Brien and wife Wendi, Michael O'Brien and wife Angela, Sean O'Brien and wife Jenna. Her grandchildren include Collin Wieczorek, Kendall and Jason Fryar, Caroline and Anne O'Brien, Madeline, Molly Anne, Claire, Bridget, and Anabelle O'Brien, Isabel O'Brien, and Connor and Abigail O'Brien. A visitation will be held from 6pm to 8pm on Thursday at Aria Cremation Services & Funeral on Northwest Highway, Dallas. A rosary and funeral service will be held on Friday at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Dallas. The rosary begins at 10am followed by the funeral service at 10:30am. There will be a reception at the church immediately following the funeral service.
Published by Dallas Morning News on Mar. 14, 2019.