James O'Brien

I just received news of a student's death. He died of a heart attack on Wednesday, April 18. Student Life sent the notification today.

James O'Brien was not a typical college student. He was 70 years old. I think he was working on his 3rd degree. I had a class with him when I was an student in 1989 (Angling - it was a Phys. Ed. course). He stood out then because an older person who is a student stands out on a college campus. I remembered him when I saw him again when I started working in the department.

He retired from the military and spent his time learning. I recently saw him in the undergraduate adviser's office planning his next semester course schedule. He would take one or two courses at a time. He learned at his own pace but never stopped learning.

He often joked that it was appropriate that as the oldest undergraduate at Texas A&M that he should study in the oldest building at Texas A&M.

I think I saw him last on Monday or Tuesday. I don't quite remember. We just said hello to each other as I passed him the hallway on the way to some business that must of been important at the time.

In my memory, I can clearly see him sitting on the couch outside the student services door. He was reading something in a notebook. His legs were crossed and he was leaning a bit to the right. I remember his voice and him saying, "Hi, Linda, how are you doing." I said I was doing great.

I cannot remember why I went down the hall.

He was the only student, besides the student workers, that I have much interaction with. We would talk about all kinds of things - mostly non-academic stuff. The last long conversation was about unusual middle names and his troubles learning Latin and why he chose Latin as his language to study. Regarding Latin, he said he was too old to learn another alphabet on top of another language.

I am inspired by James' attitude and his love for learning. I will miss seeing him in the halls.