Merna Rosemary Kanady O'Brien
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Merna Rosemary Kanady O'Brien of Anna passed from this life to her Heavenly home at 12:50 p.m. on Thursday, March 10, 2011, at the Carrier Mills Rehabilitation and Nursing Center following a lengthy illness. She was surrounded by her loving family.
She was born in Gallatin County's Gold Hill Township on April 19, 1919, the beloved only child of Jacob and Franka (Wooden) Kanady.
She married James K. O'Brien, formerly of Carbondale, on Nov. 20, 1941.
She is survived by two daughters, Rebecca Kay Williams (Jerold) of Harrisburg and Peggy Leigh Dent (Austin) of Cobden; four grandchildren, James Scott Williams (Michelle) of Boca Raton, Fla., Stacey Leigh Thompson (Joe) of Harrisburg, Laura Lee Clark (Brian) of Cobden and Jacob Matthew Dent of Anna; 10 great-grandchildren, Chase and Samantha Williams, Caleb, Kate, Cooper and Sykes Thompson, Hailee and Brayden Clark, and Emma and Joseph Dent; and many, many former coworkers, students and dear friends.
She was preceded in death by her husband, James; her parents, Jacob and Franka Kanady; and her grandparents, George and Martha Kanady and A.E. and Ella Wooden.
Mrs. O'Brien grew up and attended school in the Junction and Shawneetown area. She came to Christ and was baptized in the Ohio River on May 21, 1933, at the age of 13.
She and her family moved to Anna after she was graduated from high school. She became a member of the Anna First Baptist Church and remained so, except for a period of time when she was with her husband in California during World War II, for the remainder of her life. She loved her church and her church family, and they were an important and integral part of her life. She brought her children up In a Christian home and has been a true example of a Christian to them all of their lives.
Mrs. O'Brien attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, where she was a member of the Alpha Nu Chapter of Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority. She received her Bachelor's Degree in 1940 and her Master's Degree in 1970 in business education.
Mrs. O'Brien taught for over 40 years in a number of different schools, including Dongola High School. She spent the greatest part of her career teaching at Cobden High school where she taught typing, shorthand, accounting and business education. She was the Co-op director and was the sponsor of the yearbook and press club for over 20 years. Mrs. O'Brien received numerous awards and accolades during her teaching career, but the success of her students was her greatest reward and satisfaction. She was a special teacher who truly loved her students, preparing and mentoring them for college or career. She had the gift for seeing the best in each of her students, often giving trust and responsibilities to those who needed her attention the most. She is credited with turning many of their lives around. Teaching was not a job to her; it was her calling in life.
She loved to read and served on the Stinson Library Board and volunteered at her church library for many years.
But, her real passion in life was her family. She truly was the family matriarch. She never missed a ballgame or event of any of her children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren as long as her health permitted. Holidays and birthdays were joyous special occasions to be shared by the entire family. Her boundless love, her wise advice, her compassion and her generosity were lavished on every member of her family.
She kept the faith, she fought the good fight, she soldiered on to the end. Rejoice that now she is at peace and rest with her dear Savior and those loved ones who passed on before.
Visitation for Mrs. O'Brien will be held at Rendleman and Hileman Funeral Home in Anna from 11 a.m. until the funeral at 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 13, 2011. The funeral service will be conducted by her grandson-in-law, Pastor Joe Thompson of the First Baptist Church of Harrisburg and her great grandson, Caleb Thompson. Graveside services will be performed by Rev. Allen T. Speer of the First Baptist Church of Cobden. Interment will be in Anna Cemetery.
Memorials may be made at the funeral home to Hospice of Southern Illinois.