John B. “Jay” O’Brian, Jr., 72, of Chester, NH, passed away on Thursday evening April 27, 2023, from pancreatic cancer at the Granite VNA Hospice in Concord, NH. He was born on September 28, 1950, in Saginaw, MI, a son of the late Marcia (Eiseman) and John B. O’Brian. He graduated from Alma High School (MI) in 1968 and attended Alma College. Jay was a long-time resident of Chester, NH and recently lived in Bow, NH.
Jay had an extensive background in the audio business. He was well known and admired for his expertise. His career began in retail at Buy rite and then at Campus Hi-Fi, as a salesperson and later manager. He moved into manufactures sales at Boston Acoustics as the Canadian Sales Representative. He then joined Monitor Audio (Kevro International) where he was the Eastern Regional Sales Manager for 14 years. For the past few years, he worked for and then was co-owner of the Northeast Rep Agency.
Jay’s ardor for sports began in his youth with his father, who was an avid University of Michigan fan, and he continued the family tradition. After moving to the Northeast, he enthusiastically supported the Patriots, Celtics and Red Sox. He particularly enjoyed the rivalries and the back-and-forth banter. Jay also loved his furry family members. Dogs were part of his life, and he always had one or two in the family. Then he brought home his first cat, Jasper, and fell in love with him. All were equal in his heart. His travels took him to many parts of the US, Canada, St John’s, Cancun. He immersed himself in the local culture and food scene. He enjoyed being in the outdoors, from hiking to relaxing and enjoying the views.
Jay was passionate about everything important in his life - loved ones, family and friends, his career, sports, travel; always using humor, respecting and supporting everyone. He was a big life presence and loved engaging with people. He was an audiophile, enthusiastic about high-quality sound, and a lover of most genres of music. So, play your favorite music today; turn it up so that he can hear it as he travels on his journey.
He is survived by his partner, Donna Evans, son, Cameron S. O’Brian, daughter, Jessica O’Brian, three grandchildren, Cameron and his partner Natasha, Nathan, and Jonah; sister, Marsha O’Brian Newcomb and husband Jerry, brother, Cameron W. O’Brian, several nieces, nephews and cousins..
Following cremation, memorial services will be held by the family in late summer in Chester, NH at Chester Congregational Baptist Church at the center of town. Memorial contributions may be made to Music Will which runs the largest nonprofit music program in the US public school system at https://musicwill.org/
Or memorial contributions may be made to the Pope Memorial SPCA of Concord-Merrimack County, 94 Silk Farm Rd, Concord, NH 03301 or https://www.popememorialspca.org/