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Social activist helped start Circus McGurkis

The local Quaker leader, known for her loving nature, dies of cancer.

By WAVENEY ANN MOORE
Published November 15, 2006

Christine O'Brien, who helped start Circus McGurkis, the annual "people's fair" that began with a commune of hippies more than three decades ago, died early Tuesday (Nov. 14, 2006) of colon cancer. She was 57.

A member of the St. Petersburg Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, or Quakers, Ms. O'Brien was known for her commitment to social causes.

"Christine, to me, was the embodiment of what Quakerism is," said Diann Harrison, a friend for 20 years. "She was the most nonviolent person and she had the most incredible ability to just love people, hold them up and support them. And what she really always tried to do was to try to level the playing field for everyone, so that everyone had the same opportunities. She did the civil rights, she did the antiwar, because she believed so strongly that there is that of God in everyone."

Ms. O'Brien lived with her companion, John Mumford Walker, in a Gulfport cottage she named Lizard Hall. She came to St. Petersburg in 1967 to attend Florida Presbyterian College, now Eckerd College, and at 19 discovered the local Quaker community. She ended up becoming a leader of the group, serving as its clerk for more than 20 years. Though disabled by lupus, the artist and writer continued to work for peace and social justice causes.

"The thing is, even though she wasn't the clerk anymore, she was our teacher and we loved her very much. She has been very ill for almost six months and hadn't even attended for that period of time," said Lin Jorgensen, the current clerk.

Early Tuesday, Karen Putney, a member of the Tampa Quaker community, sent an e-mail about Ms. O'Brien's death. "Friend Christine O'Brien passed away early this morning," she wrote.

"She passed peacefully in her sleep with some of her family members at her side. We will continue to hold Christine, her family and loved ones in the Light."

In a column in Neighborhood Times about her faith in 2003, O'Brien wrote that as a Quaker, her faith is tested daily. "I have a concern for every beloved child of God. I try to serve each one in my path and hold them up with a tender hand in the course of my daily walk. As a pacifist with a concern for equality, our world today is a challenge for most Quakers. The test of faith that is closest to home is trying to live simply so that others may simply live. Simple living is a difficult testimony that I am learning about every day."

Ms. O'Brien is also survived by one daughter, Hazel Collins of New York City, and three sisters, Corrine Whitford, Carolyn Johnson and Carmen Fischer. There will be no funeral, but a memorial is being planned.

[Last modified November 14, 2006, 21:31:42]