San
Joaquin County
Biographies
JERRY O’BRIEN, D. D. S.
Occupying a position of distinction
as a representative of the dental profession in Stockton, Dr. Jerry O’Brien’s
capability is evidenced by the large patronage which is accorded him. His equipment for the profession was
unusually good and this he has continually extended through keeping in touch
with the marked advancement that has been made in this profession in the last
quarter of a century. One of
California’s native sons, Dr. O’Brien was born at Colusa, on July 6, 1874, a
son of Dennis and Mary E. (Spillane) O’Brien, both natives of Ireland. The mother and father were married in New
York City and came to California via Panama in the early ‘50s, being carried
across the Isthmus on the backs of natives.
The father was a shoemaker by trade, and upon arrival in San Francisco
opened a shop on Market Street where the Palace Hotel now stands; later he
removed to Colusa and the Gold Hill mine, but finally returned to Colusa, where
the family resided for a time; then removed to Modoc County. There were nine children in the family and
both parents are deceased; the father, who passed away in Alturas in 1921 at
the age of ninety-two years, had been an Odd Fellow for many years. The mother passed away in 1887.
Jerry attended the grammar school in
Colusa until he was ten years old, then when his family removed to Modoc County
he attended school at Alturas. Being one
of a large family of children, he was obliged to look out for himself after
finishing the grammar grades so he learned the printer’s trade on the Alturas
New Era, and then went to Marysville and there continued on the Appeal and
later the Democrat; later he worked in the state printing office at Sacramento. Then, with his brother, W. S. O’Brien, he
purchased the Sutter Independent, a weekly newspaper at Yuba City, and together
they ran same for three years, when he removed to Stockton and entered the
Stockton Business College, from which he graduated in 1898. He then returned to Sacramento and again
worked in the state printing office; then he went to Marysville, where he
became cashier for the general merchandise store of Weinlander
& Hexter.
In 1900 he entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons at San
Francisco, studying dentistry and medicine, this course covering a period of
two years, when he entered the University of California, from which he was
graduated in 1903 with the degree of D. D. S.
For the next ten years he practiced his profession in Central America,
principally in Guatemala City, and while there he was graduated from the
College of Medicine and Pharmacy with the degree of C. D. and is a member of
the faculty of the above college. On
returning to California in 1916, he began practice at the Emergency Hospital. In 1918 he volunteered his services to the
dental department of the American Red Cross and was commissioned a first
lieutenant and sent to Siberia, where he was in charge of the dental department
of the Red Cross Hospital at Omsk, an institution with 1,100 beds, and while
there he was commissioned a captain.
Later he was transferred to Tomsk, where he was in charge of the refugee
department, distributing supplies. After
sixteen months in Siberia he returned home on the transport Thomas via Manila
to San Francisco. He opened new offices
in the Elks building at Stockton, resuming his practice, and was again in
charge of the dental clinic a year.
Later, however, he resigned to devote all of his time to his practice.
Dr. O’Brien was married in Guatemala
City to Miss Mary Esther Penzotti, a native of Chile,
who was educated at the Newton, Massachusetts high school and Boston
Conservatory of Music. They have two
children: Francis Joseph, born in
Marysville, California; and Mary Esther, born in Guatemala. Dr. O’Brien was the founder of the Beta Delta
Chapter of the Psi Omega Dental Fraternity at the University of
California. They own their own
fraternity house near the Affiliated Colleges in San Francisco, and he was
first grand master. He is president of
the Central California District Dental Society and is also a member of the
American and State Dental Associations.
He is a member of the Stockton Advertising Club. He is a member of Delta Lodge No. 47, F. &
A. M., and also all the Scottish Rite bodies in
Stockton as well as the Sciots, and with his wife is a member of the O. E.
S. He is also a member of Stockton
Parlor No. 7, N. S. G. W., Stockton Lodge 218, B. P. O. E., and the Loyal Order
of Moose, and is an honorary member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and was
one of the founders of the Siberian Veteran’s Association.
Transcribed by V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Pages
1415-1416. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2012 V. Gerald Iaquinta.
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