Conan O’Brien’s mother and father die three days apart after 66 years of marriage

Late night comedian Conan O’Brien is mourning the loss of both of his parents, who died three days apart this week.

His father, Dr. Thomas O’Brien, died on Dec. 9 in his Brookline home, according to The Boston Globe, after reports that his “health had been failing.”

Conan O’Brien’s mother, Ruth Reardon O’Brien, died three days later on Dec. 12, according to an obituary released by the Bell-O’Dea Funeral Home.

Dr. O’Brien, 95, and Ruth O’Brien, 92, were married for 66 years and are survived by six children and nine grandchildren.

In an interview with The Boston Globe, Conan O’Brien described his father as someone who “loved meeting people” and “getting to know them in a very meaningful way.”

“My father was in constant motion. And he was interested in everything — absolutely everything,” Conan O’Brien said.

“He wanted to go everywhere, meet everybody, see everything, taste everything,” he continued.

Conan O’Brien credits his father for introducing him to the world of comedy and some of the classic acts who made comedy popular, including Jack Benny, Charlie Chaplin and the Marx Brothers.

“The loudest I’ve ever heard anybody laugh was sitting next to him in a theater watching Peter Sellers in a ‘Pink Panther’ movie,” Conan O’Brien said to The Boston Globe.

He further described his father as “the funniest guy in the room” whose “whole body would convulse” anytime he would laugh.

“He would almost hug himself,” Conan O’Brien added.

Justin O’Brien, the youngest of the O’Brien children, shared one of the most useful pieces of advice his father gave him growing up.

“If you ever have a chance to do something, do it,” Justin O’Brien recalled to The Boston Globe.

“I think his point was that you’re always going to end up meeting someone or having some kind of adventure and getting something out of whatever you’re doing that will benefit your life,” he continued.

Dr. O’Brien graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1954 after receiving his bachelor’s degree at the College of the Holy Cross, according to his obituary.

He met Ruth Reardon O’Brien through two of his classmates at Holy Cross, who happened to be her brothers, according to The Boston Globe.

Dr. O’Brien and Ruth Reardon O’Brien tied the knot in 1958 and welcomed Conan O’Brien five years later.

They’re also parents to sons Justin, Neal and Luke, and daughters Kate and Jane.

“For the rest of my time on earth I will be hearing from people who want to talk with me about my dad,” Conan said to The Boston Globe.

“I’ve never met anyone like him, and he happens to be my father. If I met him randomly in a hotel lobby, I’d think, ‘Who the hell is this guy? He’s the most interesting person I’ve ever met,’” he continued.

Dr. O’Brien spent two years in the Army Medical Corps in San Antonio before embarking on a successful medical career at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

He’s primarily known for his work in antimicrobial drug resistance and was the director of the microbiology laboratory at Brigham and Women’s.

Ruth Reardon O’Brien started her career as a law clerk on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court before joining the Ropes & Gray law firm as a real estate attorney, according to her obituary.

She later became the second woman partner to ever join the firm and was awarded the iRelaunch Pioneering Relauncher Award in 2017.