IN REMEMBRANCE : John David O ’ Brien , MD 02 / 21 / 1940-3 / 30 / 2024
From a “ Memory Board ” note in the Courier-Journal obituary listing for Dr . John David O ’ Brien :
“ Dr . O ’ Brien was my father ’ s doctor in the early 1980 ’ s . [ My father ]… had idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis , a horrible disease . Dr . O ’ Brien treated him to make him more comfortable … and he passed without suffocating from disease . [ Dr . O ’ Brien ]… wrote my mother a beautiful , kind letter about grief and loss . He had suffered his own loss of his son . How caring that he took time to reach out to her . She kept the letter ... I found it after her passing and was so grateful [ Dad ] had such
a wonderful doctor .”
I
met
Dr . O ’ Brien and Dr . Bob Tillett in 1983 when I was planning to move back to Louisville and interviewed with them to join their practice . It was easy to love John from the start . He had a quick , warm and welcoming smile and made me feel as though I was home . In addition , we shared the name David , a history of military experience in Washington , D . C . and left-handedness .
John became my guide to medicine in Louisville , a mentor , teacher , and along with his wife Jean , a wonderful friend .
His was a stellar career . He graduated from the University of Louisville School of Medicine in 1967 and went on to complete his internal medicine residency and pulmonary medicine fellowship at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center where he served as chief resident . Major O ’ Brien continued his service in the Army Medical Corps and served as the Chief of Internal Medicine at Ireland Army Hospital in Fort Knox , Kentucky . In 1975 he , Jean and their children moved to Louisville to join Dr . Tillett in private practice .
John gave a lot to the medical community in Louisville . He was involved in multiple committees at Methodist Evangelical Hospital ( MEH ) and was a founder of the MEH outreach program to connect primary care physicians in the region with specialists in Louisville . When MEH and Norton merged , he was instrumental in creating the structure of the organized medical staff . Nationally , John served as a councilor on the AMA ’ s Organized Medical Staff Council and in that role , he served on the JCMS / GLMS Board of Governors for many years .
Under John ’ s supervision , our practice became more structured and incorporated as a PSC . He served as the first president of what eventually became O ’ Brien , Bybee , Williams , Self and Fakunle , PSC which is now Endocrine and Diabetes Associates . His business acumen with the help of our practice management consultant improved our accounting and billing practices , our record keeping and staff management . He was a mentor to us all .
The most important gift that John gave us was caring from the heart for all his patients , for the practice of medicine itself , for the staff and physicians of our practice and for the greater Louisville medical community – and for honesty , truth and justice . The most important gift he gave the world was the example of caring from the heart for his family and sharing that love and care with those who needed it .
-David Bybee , MD
Dr . O ' Brien was a GLMS member for 49 years .
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