Obituary - Thomas F. McBrien

Wednesday, April 12, 2006
THE JUNEAU EMPIRE

Juneau resident Thomas F. McBrien, 60, died April 3, 2006, at Swedish Hospital in Seattle.

A memorial service is planned for 4 p.m. on Tuesday, April 18, at the Cathedral of the Nativity in Juneau. A full obituary will follow at a later date.

April 16, 2006
THE JUNEAU EMPIRE
Thomas McBrien

Juneau resident Thomas F. McBrien, 60, died April 3, 2006, of cancer on at Swedish Hospital in Seattle.

He served as Director of Business Operations at the University of Alaska Southeast for the past four years and was involved in various aspects of accounting and finance throughout his career. He held an undergraduate degree in political science from St. Michael's College in Vermont, and a Master of Business Administration in Accounting from Cornell University. He served as an officer in the United States Air Force from 1967 to 1971.

According to his family, he was a "quintessential lifelong learner." In recent years, he studied art and music through distance education courses.

Family members said, "Tom loved life. He loved learning. He loved his family. He loved Alaska, and he loved to fly. He felt he was truly the luckiest man in the world."

He was preceded in death by his father, Thomas F. McBrien, who died in 1955.

He is survived by his wife of 38 years, Jean-Marie; daughter, Colleen (Dave) McKenna; son, Tom (Julie) McBrien; two grandchildren, Seamus and Erin McBrien - all of Juneau; mother, Mary E. McBrien of New Hyde Park, N.Y.; sister, Ellen (David) Courchene of Wayland, Mass.; and brother, William (Christine) McBrien of Milford, N.H.; niece, Maggie McBrien; nephews, Keith McBrien, Matthew Courchene and Brien Courchene.

A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. on April 18 at the Cathedral of the Nativity on Fifth Street in Juneau. A reception hosted by the family will be held immediately after the service in the Treadwell Room at the Baranof Hotel. All are welcome to attend.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the building of the community playground at Twin Lakes. Early in the 1980s, he chaired the building of a Robert Leathers playground in Ontario, N.Y., at his children's school and looked forward to participating in building a similar playground for his grandchildren in Juneau. Checks should be made payable to "Project Playground," and can be mailed to Jean McBrien, 300 Hermit St., Unit 10, Juneau, AK, 99801.