Conan O’Brien Shares Moving Tribute to His Parents After Their Deaths

Conan O’Brien is sharing heartwarming childhood memories of his parents after their recent deaths.

The comedian’s dad, Dr. Thomas F. O’Brien, passed away Dec. 9 at age 95. Three days later, his mom, lawyer Ruth Reardon O’Brien, died at age 92.

“I think what my mother and father saw in each other was that they were kindred spirits,” Conan told the Boston Globe in an interview published Dec. 17. “They were incredibly hard-working and disciplined.”

The 61-year-old’s parents raised him and his five siblings—Neal, 64, Luke, 62, Kate, 60, Jane, 57 and Justin, 52—in Brookline, Mass. Their father, a physician, epidemiologist and Harvard professor, cofounded the World Health Organization’s Collaborating Centre for Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance and traveled the world to help train and consult with peers internationally on the topic.

“My dad was the dreamer,” Conan said. “My dad was the one who was saying, ‘I’m off to Peru with a change of clothes in my briefcase to try and launch this website for a hospital there high in the mountains.'”