Dr. John S. O'Brien, 65, longtime psychiatrist

By CRAIG BASSE

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 5, 2000

ST. PETERSBURG -- Dr. John S. O'Brien, a psychiatrist here for a quarter century and a founding board member of the Developmental Center, has died at 65.

Dr. O'Brien, a former member of the District Mental Health Board and a specialist in biofeedback, died Wednesday (May 3, 2000) at Mariner Health of Port Charlotte. The cause was lung cancer complications, his family said.

His former office at 115 Fifth Ave. NE was next to the Child and Family Development Center, a non-profit agency for children with learning disabilities. Its name shortened in 1972, it now is in Pinellas Park. From 1967 to 1986, he was a board vice president.

After leaving St. Petersburg in 1990, he was senior physician for the Willough at Naples, Fla., a center for alcohol and drug addiction and eating disorders.

He later was medical director of Al Amal Hospital in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, under a contract with a U.S. corporation, and a senior physician at G. Pierce Wood Memorial Hospital, Arcadia. He lived in Punta Gorda.

"He was a very scholarly person," a former partner, Dr. Mack Hicks of St. Petersburg, a clinical psychologist, recalled Thursday. "He did his residency at the Institute of Living in Hartford, Conn., which was considered one of the most advanced at that time. He was very intelligent and certainly a leader in the use of medication."

John Stanley O'Brien was born in St. Petersburg, the son of Dr. Raymond K. O'Brien, a longtime general practitioner, and Zita N. O'Brien, a cathedral organist.

Valedictorian of the 1951 class at St. Paul's High School, he went on to graduate cum laude from the University of Notre Dame and receive a medical degree in 1959 from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

In 1965, he opened a private practice in St. Petersburg, and 10 years later he established the Feedback Center for pain diagnosis and management.

Survivors include his wife of five years, Susan; two daughters, Diane O'Brien Juve, Avon Park, and Nancy O'Brien, Arlington, Va.; two sons, Dr. Peter, Devon, Pa., and Thomas, St. Petersburg; a stepdaughter, Kirsten Dickerson, Tucson, Ariz.; a stepson, Mark Dickerson, Punta Gorda; and six grandchildren.

Friends may call from 4 to 6 p.m. today at John S. Rhodes, East Chapel, 635 Fourth St. N. Services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Mary Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church, 515 Fourth St. S. Burial will be at Royal Palm Cemetery.

The family suggested memorial contributions to the John S. O'Brien M.D. Memorial Fund, c/o Tom Giandinoto, Department of Pharmacology, University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine, 153 Johnson Pavilion, 3620 Hamilton Walk, Philadelphia, 19104-6084.

-- Information from Times files was used in this obituary.

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