Obituary of Anne Elizabeth O'Brien

Roxanne Elizabeth O'Brien

Roxanne passed away on Thursday, August 10th, 2023. She was born in Sharon Hospital, in Sharon, Connecticut on November 30th 1939 to Gladys and James J. O'Brien of Millbrook, NY. Roxanne attended Millbrook schools and graduated in 1957. She attended and graduated from New York Foundling Hospital in 1958 as a Technician with a diploma from The School of Infant Care. Roxanne then worked at St. Francis Hospital before entering the convent of The Franciscan Missionaries of Mary in 1960, becoming Sister Mary Loretta. During this time she graduated from Saint Elizabeth School of Nursing in Boston in 1966. In 1967 the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine Archdiocese of Boston designated her a Teacher of Religion. In 1970 Roxanne completed the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Program at Bunker Hill Health Center at Massachusetts General Hospital. She then attended the University of the State of New York and became a Registered Nurse in 1971. Roxanne left the convent in 1977 and settled in Orange, New Jersey. She went on to earn a degree in Social Work from Kean College in New Jersey in 1981. Roxanne then began her career as a school nurse and worked in several charter schools, eventually retiring from North Star Academy. In the 1980s and 90s she was a foster mother, taking in a number of children in her local community. She was a parishioner at Our Lady of the Valley and taught Sunday school there for many years. Roxanne was known to her New Jersey friends as 'Anne' and was part of a close knit group of friends who enjoyed socializing and dining out, and who looked out for one another. She enjoyed being a grandmother and was a devout Catholic who was very involved in her church community. She felt it was her calling to help children and the disadvantaged. Roxanne is predeceased by her parents, James and Gladys O'Brien, and her sister Janet and brother in law George Jones. She is survived by her sister Gladys and brother-in-law Michael Lang of Millbrook, nieces Michele and Amy, and 3 great nieces. She is also survived by Keisha and Kelli Reed, her 4 grandchildren, and 1 great-grandchild.

Church services will be held at Our Lady of the Valley Church in Orange, New Jersey on Monday, August 28th at 11am. Burial services will take place at a later date in Millbrook, New York. In honor of Roxanne and in lieu of flowers, a charitable donation to an agency that supports children would be appreciated.