Katherine Ann O'Brien

Katherine Ann O’Brien, 35, of Beaverton, Oregon, passed away Wednesday, March 2, 2016 at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center, in Portland, OR. She was born April 11, 1980 in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, to her parents, Gary and Grace Ann Hansen. She was the beloved wife to Daniel O’Brien and mother of three children who meant the world to her.

Katherine graduated from Ripon High School in Ripon, Wisconsin with the class of 1998. She received her Bachelor of Art from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin in 2002 and went on to earn her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Minnesota, Duluth in 2009. In September 2009, she was united in marriage to Daniel O’Brien. She completed her pharmacy residency at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center in 2010, followed by employment at North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale, MN as a hospital pharmacist. In the Spring of 2014, the family relocated to Portland, Oregon for her husband to start a new career and where Katherine worked in the anticoagulation clinic at Providence St. Vincent.

To her family and friends, she was known as Kayte or Kate. She enjoyed the company of good friends, time spent exploring new places, and a patio with a view on a warm, sunny day. She was beautifully honest, compassionate, accepting, and had a wonderful sense of humor. She had a bright smile and explosive laugh that was infectious and inviting, and she made friends easily wherever she went. She faced life’s challenges with a fierce grace that was raw and unguarded, and her competitive spirit resonated in her intensity and ability playing volleyball, the sport she loved.

Kayte was enthusiastic about traveling. One of her proud personal accomplishments was having visited all 50 states. She was always looking forward to the next trip. Among her favorite pastimes was researching the next family vacation. The towns along the Oregon coast became among her favorite places to visit for looking through tide pools, finding jellyfish and shells, and chasing the waves while holding hands with the kids.She always loved the ocean.

Kate had wonderful friendships, but loved her husband and three children as the core of her existence. She was a devoted, loving wife who enjoyed special times with her family: springtime planting of the gardens, berry picking, teeball in the front yard, sledding, visits to the park, attending church together, and day trips “poking around” the countryside. Her absolute favorite moments were those of being a mom. From watching her kids play in their unique ways, to spending special one-on-one time with them, down to the simplest daily moments like tucking each into bed, reading stories every night, and most of the time falling asleep next to one of them. She cherished watching them grow and loved thinking about the people they will grow to become.

She is survived by her husband Daniel B. O’Brien and three children, Owen, Carter and Adalinn O’Brien, all of Beaverton, OR; one brother, Shane (Sarah) Hansen, her parents Gary and Grace Ann Hansen, all of Ripon, WI; her grandmother Phyllis Hansen of Columbus, WI; two sisters-in-law,Shiela (Robert) Bushey of South Range, WI and Laura (Mark) Jeranek of Houghton, MI; one brother-in-law,Joseph O’Brien, and her father and mother-in-law Bruce and Nancy O’Brien, all of Duluth, MN; and 2 nieces and 7 nephews. She was preceded in death by her grandparents, Robert S. Hansen and Harold and Grace Rhody.

Services will be held at Peace Lutheran Church in Rosendale, WI with visitation on Thursday, March 10 from 5:00 - 8:00 PM and funeral services on Friday March 11 at 1:00 PM with a visitation lunch starting at noon. Graveside service will be held at Woodlawn Cemetery in Ripon, WI. The family will host a gathering at Roadhouse Pizza in Ripon starting at 4:00 PM for family and friends to gather in Kate’s memory. A memorial service will also be held at St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Beaverton, OR on Saturday, April 16 at 1:00 PM.

In lieu of flowers, a trust fund has been set up for her children’s college fund. Memorials can be made by contacting Sarah Schweiss at [email protected] or (218)3910755.

Arrangements under the direction of Skyline Memorial Gardens Funeral Home, 4101 NW Skyline Blvd., Portland, Oregon, (503) 292-6611.