James (J. P. ) O'Brien

Grand Ledge High School

Class of 1964

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JAMES (J. P. )'S PROFILE

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First Name	James (j. P. )
Last Name	O'brien
Graduation Year	Class of 1964
Gender	Male
Current Location	GRAND JUNCTION, CO 81505-6941
Hometown	GRAND LEDGE, MI
Relationship Status	Married
About Me	I left Michigan in 1964 because I didn't see any future for me there. I moved to Denver CO. and I loved it there. I was in Upper Retail management for May Co. but got tired of all the politics. I met my wife Katie while working here. She was a Colorado Native and she never been out of the state. I was her boss then, that was the ONLY time I was able to Boss her. LOL I then went to work for COORS Porcelain Co. not the brewery but part of the same family. I really enjoyed working for Joe Coors as a shift supervisor for 6 years. Then when the Recession of 1975 hit the Country I had enough of working for others. All the time I was in Denver I always had a part time Auto Repair Business on the side. I decided to go to a trade school to learn more. After a year of Auto school I wanted to move to a smaller town and start my shop full time. After Auto Tech school I moved to Grand Junction, CO in 1976 with my wife, daughter & son. Grand Junction is 27 miles east of the Utah border & in 1976 had a population of about 72,000. Now population is about 140,000 I ran my auto shop (Obies Auto Repair) for 12 years until my knees went bad. I did very well & really hated to have to close. I had a very Good Reputation locally & an International Reputation. To make a short story: My Logo was a Leprechaun holding tools in his hands. An Irish couple who were touring the U.S.A. saw my Leprechaun & needed their vehicle repaired. We visited awhile about the Old Country & they left. Quite often after that I would get phone calls from others who were friends of the first couple from Ireland & there wanted me to check their vehicle out before they continued their trips, You Just Never Know! An International Reputation. After that I taught Auto Tech at the local Community College for 3 years. In 1988 the Oil Shale BUST hit Grand Junction & people were moving out at over 1,000 per week. We had a large group of VA Repos & HUD Repos for sale. My friend & I started a Buyers Representation Real Estate Firm that only work with Buyers, usually from out of state who came here to pick up real cheap houses to use as rentals. It worked out very well and I retired in 1999 I got bored with retirement so I started a small business (L'll Bitty Builder). I assembled any thing a person bought that had to be assembled. Swing sets, tool sheds, bicycles, furniture, BBQ's above ground swim pools, etc. I was contacted by Sears, K-Mart & Wal-Mart to assemble their products. I got so busy I realized I was NO Longer Retired. After 2 years I sold the business & Retired again Now I keep busy with my 3 Grand Daughters aged 15 & 13 &11. What with their soft ball teams & band, Camping/F...(read more)