Margaret "Peggy" O'Brien

Ms. Margaret A. "Peggy" O'Brien of Silver Spring, MD, with strong family roots to Stillwater, MN, joined her loved ones in heaven on January 2, 2026. Born on June 27, 1933 in Washington, DC to Stillwater native LTC Joseph F. O'Brien and Margaret A. O'Brien (nee Burns), Peggy spent her entire life in the Silver Spring, MD area while enjoying frequent visits with family & friends in Stillwater throughout her life.

The O'Brien family "homestead" at 320 N 2nd Street, while no longer in family ownership, stands strong as a testament to the O'Brien & Arndt legacies in Stillwater. Built in the 1840's, acquired by the O'Brien's from the Lloyd's in 1867, this still standing residence, among the oldest in Stillwater, is where catholic services were conducted from 1849 to 1853. The O'Brien family at one point owned most of the lots on the N 2nd St block, as Peggy often helped her father in his passion of building all the retaining walls standing strong today, and the underground basement & garage that extends to N. 2nd. Peggy donated a commemorative bench honoring her father (once the oldest active lawyer in MN, supporting the elderly and veterans) across the street just north in Pioneer Park, a family favorite place to visit, overseeing the St. Croix River, dating back to the family's early legacy in the logging industry.

Peggy loved her family, friends, and neighbors, as well as her career & many life experiences, with a lifelong devotion to her Catholic faith, including celebrating mass at St Michael's in Stillwater during her visits. She was well known to all with an infectious generous personality, always smiling, laughing & giving to others, especially to those in need.

Peggy completed all her schooling in MD & DC, where she excelled academically, socially and in athletics through her high school years. She followed in the footsteps of her athletic Stillwater uncles as a homerun hitting softball catcher, a talented basketball point guard, and a solid doubles tennis player. Her family fondly remembers her adventures in cross country skiing.

She attended Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School and graduated from Trinity Washington University (then College) with a BA in Sociology. She enjoyed her (33) year career at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in HR & Employee Relations, as the NIH Awards Coordinator.

Peggy stayed active in her retirement serving many local organizations that included Meals on Wheels, Birthright International, the Red Hat Society, the Ladies' Auxiliary of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Sodality of Our Lady the Blessed Virgin Mary, as well as NARFE, and AARP. She enjoyed gardening, extensive travel, craft shows, bazaars, sporting events, trips to historic sites, all holidays, and many parades. She was a professionally trained "happy clown" in full costume & makeup. Most of all, she loved time with her family, as being everyone's Aunt Peggy.

While never married nor any children, Peggy is preceded in death by her parents, her brother George O'Brien and his wife Doris, her sister Mary Anne Anderson and her husband Bernie, her brother-in-law Robert MacCollum, and many other O'Brien's and Arndt's in Stillwater, she is survived by her sister Helen MacCollum, nine nieces and nephews, and their extended families.

A funeral mass will be held at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, 10103 Georgia Ave, Silver Spring, MD on Tuesday, March 3 at 11:00 am, followed by a Celebration of Life reception at the nearby Knights of Columbus Hall. She will be later interred on Monday, March 23rd with her beloved O'Brien relatives at the family plot in St. Michael's Cemetery, Bayport, MN.

In lieu of flowers, Peggy has requested that donations may be made to the Children's Inn at NIH, 7 West Drive, Bethesda, MD, 20814.