Michael F. O’Brien

WHITAKERS - Michael Francis O'Brien died at his home, The Elms, in Whitakers on Thursday morning, August 6, 2020, after a heroic struggle with cancer that began less than a year ago. He was born on March 10, 1955, the beloved son of Frank Prince O'Brien and Sarah Draughon O'Brien, and grew up in Wilmington. Michael's childhood was filled with family picnics, days at the beach, and especially trips to his mother's family home in Whitakers, where his family gathered with aunts and uncles and cousins to swim in the creek, fish in the pond, and help his beloved grandparents with farm chores. Michael graduated from John T. Hoggard High School, where he played tennis and began his enduring love of the game. He entered North Carolina State University in 1973 as a botany major and graduated four years later with a B.S. in rural sociology. At the university, he discovered his passion and extraordinary talent for photography, using the camera his parents gave him as a high school graduation gift. While in college, he was chosen as a Nikon Young Photographer of the Year. He worked for the newspaper and the yearbook, moving into a post-graduation career as a photographer for the News and Observer, The Associated Press, and Steve Murray and Associates. The first day of his sophomore year, he met first-day freshman Daphne Hamm of Tarboro and asked her out for pizza. Inseparable every day thereafter, they became a campus couple, marrying four years later, on August 19, 1978. After living in Raleigh for 12 years, Michael fulfilled his lifelong dream of returning to live at the farm, where he had experienced so much family love and so many happy times. He and Daphne began to grow flowers, especially zinnias and sunflowers, and to sell them at farmer's markets in Rocky Mount and Tarboro. From a few short rows in their vegetable garden, they began the Fishing Creek Flower Farm, which operated at the Rocky Mount Farmer's Market through the summer of 2019 and was featured several times in Our State magazine. Michael and Daphne loved every day of being together in the greenhouses, the fields, and the market, where they made many, many friends. In 1996, the couple was blessed with a son, Anderson Draughon O'Brien, who was the joy of his father's life. As an infant, he spent many hours in a carrier on his father's back, tramping through the fields and woods, and as he grew up, the two spent many hours hiking, fishing, boating, golfing, and working on projects together. When Anderson was in high school, the two started the Fishing Creek Cider Company. Michael was proud of his son and was elated to gain a beloved daughter-in-law in May of 2019, when Anderson married Haley Ebel, his very own college sweetheart. Michael was full of intellectual curiosity, energy, dedication, honor, and love for his family and friends, for nature, for music and art, and for "all things bright and beautiful." He is survived by Daphne Hamm O'Brien; Anderson and wife, Haley Ebel O'Brien, of Lake Charles, Louisiana; his mother, Sarah Draughon O'Brien, of Wilmington; his sister, Sarah Patricia O'Brien, of Cary; and two nephews, Patrick Powell, of Raleigh, and Michael Powell, of Park City, Utah. A Private Family Graveside will be held at The Elms Farm Family Cemetery in Whitakers, NC with the Reverend Dee Shaffer and Deacon Louise Anderson of Calvary Episcopal Church in Tarboro celebrating. Flowers are welcome or the family would appreciate memorials made to Polka Dot Mama Melanoma Foundation (https://polkadotmama.org/donate/). Memorials may be sent to Polka Dot Mama Melanoma Foundation, 10030 Green Level Church Road, Suite 802-#1251, Cary, NC 27519 or Nash UNC Health Care Systems - Hospice, 2460 Curtis Ellis Drive, Rocky Mount, NC 27804. Arrangements entrusted to Wheeler & Woodlief Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 1130 N. Winstead Avenue, Rocky Mount, NC 27804. You may share memories and condolences with the family by visiting www.wheelerwoodlief.com. Service A Private Family Graveside will be held at The Elms Farm Family Cemetery in Whitakers, NC with the Reverend Dee Shaffer and Deacon Louise Anderson of Calvary Episcopal Church in Tarboro celebrating. Cemetery