Thomas James O'Brien, age 60 of Rural, WI, passed away on Friday, January 30, 2026 at his home surrounded by his family.  Tommy was born on November 23, 1965 in Appleton to the late James and Shirley (Buttolph) O'Brien.  He graduated from Manawa High School with the class of 1984 and went on to serve his country in the US Army for 2 years. Following that he attended UW Stevens Point.  He married Anne and she preceded him in death in 2012.  Tommy was an expert woodworker and builder. He loved spending time with his siblings, nieces, nephews and his large O'Brien family.  Perhaps Tommy's greatest joy was his time spent in the woods of the O'Brien Maple Grove.

Tommy is survived by his siblings, Sam (Melissa) O'Brien, Terry (Beth) O'Brien, Therese (David) Miller and Jenifer (Michael) Richart and his nieces and nephews, Allie (AJ) Paoletti, Cory O'Brien, Cameron (Marijke) Miller, Emily (Jason) Hafemann, Nathan (Lindsay) O'Brien, Jacob O'Brien, Nick O'Brien, Jillian (Tom) Bussien, Alec Aragon and Nicholas Richart.

In addition to his parents and wife, he was preceded in death by his sister, Heidi and his grandparents, Bob and Ethel O'Brien and Lee and Lucille Buttolph.

A Celebration of Tommy's Life will be held on Tuesday, February 17, 2026 from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at the Maple Grove Sap Shed (E7901 Island Rd., Manawa, WI 54949).

Memorials will be used to plant additional maple trees in the O'Brien Maple Grove woods.