Deceased Classmate: O'Brien, Michael John III (1968)
Date Of Birth: 8-6-1950
Date Deceased: 11-25-2006
Age at Death: 56
Cause of Death: Cancer
Classmate City: Tillamook
Classmate State: OR
Classmate Country: USA
Survived By: Survivors include his parents Michael John O'Brien Jr. and Marguerite O'Brien; three sisters and their spouses: Molly and Joseph Bozo ofSpokane and their children Annie, Joe Jr., Nicky, Samantha and Christopher; Colleen and John Barker of Portland and their children Jessica Tonani and T.J. Tonani; Katie and David Krause and their children Emily, David and Lauren;numerous friends and, of course, his beloved Schnauzer dog, Roxy.

O'BRIEN, Michael John III (Age 56) Mr. O'Brien, sports editor at the Headlight-Herald newspaper in Tillamook, OR since 1997, is playing golf in heaven. He died November 25, 2006 in Portland, OR following a valiant battle with cancer. Michael was born August 6, 1950, in Spokane, WA, the son of Michael John O'Brien Jr. and Marguerite Perry O'Brien. Raised in Spokane, he graduated from Ferris High School in 1968. At Ferris, his love for journalism took shape as he worked as sports editor for the school newspaper. He was on the school's basketball team, and was captain of its golf team. He was junior champion at the local Manito Golf and Country Club. His golfing ability won him an athletic scholarship to the University of Oregon. According to his father, he was particularly pleased to have once beaten Jim McLean, one of the golf instructors on the Golfing Channel. He also went on to attend Gonzaga University in Spokane, and took legal assistant and legal investigation courses at Portland Community College. Prior to becoming sports editor at the Headlight-Herald in Tillamook, Michael worked in the Sports Department at the Oregonian newspaper in Portland from 1986 to 1993. Other work included two years as a legal assistant with the Federal Public Defender's Office in Portland. While serving as sports editor at the Headlight-Herald, Michael was appreciated and acknowledged within the community for his support of school athletics, as well as for his encouragement of good conduct and safe activities for student athletes. He provided balanced, yet positive, news coverage of their accomplishments, win or lose. His sense of humor, insights into human nature, eye for detail and nuance along with a flair for a compelling turn of phrase earned him accolades locally and professional writing awards statewide and regionally. His columns could be laugh-out-loud funny. They could spin a reason-able argument to provoke thought. Sometimes they would bring a lump to a throat, a tear to an eye. Instinctively, he knew how to craft a sentence for maximum effect. Michael was gratified, yet modest about recognition that frequently came his way, and was always amazed when his efforts yielded yet another award. His "Between the Lines" sports column was honored by Oregon journalism organizations several times since 2000. The Oregon Newspaper Publisher's Association declared it the best local column among all nondaily newspapers in the state in 2000 and 2002. It won third-place honors in ONPA's 2004 contest. In 2003, it took a first place in the contest sponsored by the Society of Professional Journalists Greater Oregon Chapter and in 2004, a second place. It took another first-place award in the society's 2005 contest. Michael also won a third-place award in the "best sports story" category in the Publisher's Association 2002 contest, a second for "best educational coverage" in 2003, and a third for "best local column" in 2003 and 2004. He was also awarded the Oregon Athletic Coaches Association's 2003-04 Sports Media Award. He loved living on the Oregon coast and chose to live there instead of pursuing other opportunities in journalism. Published on 11/29/2006