Conan O'Brien has suffered a devasting family tragedy after losing both of his parents three days apart.
The 61-year-old late-night comedian's mother, Ruth Reardon O'Brien passed away "peacefully" aged 92 on Thursday, December 12 at her home in Brookline, Massachusetts.
Conan's father, Dr. Thomas O'Brien, died on Monday, December 9 at the age of 95. The news of Ruth's death was confirmed by an obituary shared by the Bell-O'Dea Funeral Home.
It read: "O'Brien, Ruth Reardon of Brookline passed away peacefully on December 12th, 2024, at age 92. Beloved wife of sixty-six years to Thomas Francis O'Brien, M.D., who passed away on December 9th, 2024."
Conan has yet to speak out publicly about his mother's passing, but he paid tribute to his father in an interview with the Boston Globe, which was published on Thursday.
He said: "Science has said there's no such thing as perpetual motion, but my father was proof that that was wrong.
© Getty Images"My father was in constant motion. And he was interested in everything – absolutely everything... The loudest I've ever heard anybody laugh was sitting next to him in a theater watching Peter Sellers in a Pink Panther movie.
"He was often the funniest guy in the room. And when he would laugh, his whole body would convulse and he would almost hug himself."
Conan continued: "For the rest of my time on earth I will be hearing from people who want to talk with me about my dad. I've never met anyone like him, and he happens to be my father.
© iRelaunch/YouTube"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'."
Conan's parent will be laid to rest in a joint funeral in Boston on December 18.
According to her obituary, Ruth was "born and raised in Worcester, Massachusetts. She was a graduate of South High School, Worcester, MA (1949), Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY (1953), and Yale Law School, New Haven, CT (1956). She was only one of four women in her law school class and was elected vice president of the student government".
© iRelaunch/YouTubeIt added: "Ruth was a law clerk to The Honorable Raymond Wilkins, Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (1956-57), and a real estate attorney at the law firm Ropes & Gray in Boston (1957-58 and 1971-96). In 1978, she became the second woman to be a partner at the firm. She was a resident of Brookline since 1963."
Thomas, who was best known for his work in antimicrobial drug resistance research, served as the first director of the infectious diseases division at Brigham and Women’s Hospital for more than 60 years. He was also an associate professor at Harvard Medical School before he retired in 2019 at the age of 90.
In addition to Conan, Ruth and Thomas are survived by their five other children Neal, Jane, Justin, Kate, and Luke as well as nine grandchildren.
