Bernard C. "Barney" O'Brien

Bernard C. O’Brien “Barney” passed away at Taylor House Hospice on October 6, 2014. Visitation will be held Thursday, October 16, 2014 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Hamilton’s on Westown Parkway, 3601 Westown Parkway in West Des Moines, IA with a Rosary at 8:00 p.m. Family burial will be at St. Mary’s Cemetery in East Moline, IL at 10:00 am on October 18, 2014.

Barney was born Bruno Carlo Panepucci (Grinwood) on June 21, 1945 in Rome, Italy. Catholic Relief Services brought him to Davenport in 1955 to be adopted by the O’Brien family. He attended Assumption High School, St. Ambrose College, earned his MBA at U of I, and served in the army during the Vietnam Conflict. He was president of Steel Warehousing, Inc. in Des Moines and later became CEO of Kloeckner Namasco Steel Co. in Atlanta, GA, and retired in 2002.

Barney was the ultimate Hawkeye fan and loved all things Italian. One of the highlights of his life was in 1992 when his wife Paula helped him reunite with his birth mother and three half siblings in Italy and his huge extended Italian family.

Barney will be greatly missed by his wife, Paula Archibald O’Brien; son, Robert Michael (Christine) O’Brien; daughter, Mika Fontana Panepucci O’Brien; grandson, Nick (Bre) O’Brien; granddaughter, Sophia O’Brien; great-granddaughter, Harleigh O’Brien; and his many sister/brother-in-laws, nieces, nephews, and friends. Special thanks to the Archibald, Chenoweth, and Higgins families that loved him dearly and made him part of their family.

Memorial contributions may be directed to Catholic Relief Services, (In Memory of Barney O’Brien), P.O. Box 17090, Baltimore, MD 21297-0303. Online condolences may be expressed at www.HamiltonsFuneralHome.com.

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