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Obituary: Beverly O'Brien's Radio Work Had Roots in Her Love of Trees

Posted on: Friday, 3 March 2006, 09:01 CST

By Dan Vierria, The Sacramento Bee, Calif.

Mar. 3--Ask Beverly O'Brien where to find a mature, sawleaf zelkova and she'd pinpoint the street corner. Trees were her passion. "Bev never met a tree she didn't like," said Fred Hoffman, host of two Sacramento radio gardening shows. Mrs. O'Brien, who died Feb. 24 from cancer, was a Sacramento County master gardener and had been a weekly contributor to Hoffman's Sunday morning radio show, hosting "Tree of the Week" segments. She was 89. "She knew a lot about Sacramento trees," said Rozanne McPhee, one of Mrs. O'Brien's daughters. "She was among those originating the walks in Capitol Park. She knew the history of the trees in Capitol Park." Along with her volunteer work as a Capitol Park tree tour docent, Mrs. O'Brien also helped train new docents and presented gardening segments for several years on the Channel 3 (KCRA) noon news. "There was a little bit of show biz in her," Hoffman said. "Here was this little old lady who was so likable and knowledgeable." After retiring from the state Department of Motor Vehicles, Mrs. O'Brien began working with children, teaching them about urban forestry. She also lectured on outdoor art, container gardening and Victorian architecture. Mrs. O'Brien's volunteer work included serving on the Sacramento County Museum's board of directors, chairing Admission Day celebrations at the California State Capitol Museum and doing a 10-year stint as a Crocker Art Gallery docent. She had earned a degree in art history at California State University, Sacramento. For the past 10 years, Mrs. O'Brien informed listeners on both KFBK (1530 AM) and Talk 650 (AM) about Sacramento's trees. Always pointing out positive traits of each tree, Hoffman would sometimes counter her enthusiastic endorsements with a few negative traits. Mrs. O'Brien was born in Santa Maria. Her family later moved to Compton, then to the Marysville area, where she lived on a ranch. When she was 17 her family moved to Sacramento, where Mrs. O'Brien resided for her remaining 72 years. "When she got older, it was difficult for her to do a lot of garden tasks," McPhee said. "Mom suffered from arthritis and had trouble with her knees. Up until 20 years ago or so, she was active in the garden, but using a spade and such became too much." Increasingly unable to perform more arduous gardening tasks, Mrs. O'Brien earned her master gardener badge in 1981 and began imparting knowledge to others. Later, she earned "lifetime master gardener" status because of numerous volunteer hours.

"It was nice that, being a master gardener, she could focus on small-space gardens and dish gardens," McPhee said. "She could bring the feel of a garden into a small area or bring it indoors." During an interview with former Bee garden writer Dick Tracy several years ago, Mrs. O'Brien related one of her life's shining moments. After a chat with youngsters about the benefits of trees, she overheard one of the girls in the class chastise a boy for kicking a tree. "Stop that! Don't you know you're hurting our oxygen supply?" Mrs. O'Brien said she heard the little girl say. "That really pleased me to no end," she told Tracy, "and I felt that would be my reward before I went on to the next pasture." ------------ Beverly O'Brien Born: July 9, 1916 Died: Feb. 24, 2006 Remembered for: Volunteer work and love of gardening Survived by: Husband, Warren Arnold O'Brien of Sacramento; daughters, Katherine Atkins and Rozanne McPhee of Sacramento; four grandchildren; one great-grandchild Memorial services: 2 p.m. today in the East Lawn Memorial Park Chapel, 43rd Street and Folsom Boulevard, Sacramento. Remembrances may be made to the American Cancer Society.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Sacramento Bee, Calif.

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Santiago:SANTAMARI,

Source: The Sacramento Bee

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