Kevin Michael O'Byrne

Kevin O'Byrne, age 63, passed away suddenly in his Glendale California home on February 2, 2015.

The oldest of David and Ellen O'Byrne's 10 children, Kevin was born in Denver Colorado in August of 1951 but soon moved to Hawaii, where his father was stationed in the Navy. Returning to the mainland five years later when his Dad began work for IBM, Kevin spent his formative years in Waukegan, Illinois as a star athlete and gifted student. Kevin graduated from Iowa State University with grand master points as a bridge player, an amazing outside shot in basketball, formidable golf skills and a degree in computer science.

Moving to Arizona from the Midwest in 1975, he secured his first professional position in the Data Center at Arizona State University and met his future wife Kathy. A new job at First Interstate Bank shortly thereafter set in motion a long and distinguished career in the banking industry with Wells Fargo, spanning over 35 years-- and family relocations from Arizona to Colorado and (finally) California in 1983.

In his professional life, Kevin was considered a technology leader, developing innovative solutions for Wells Fargo customers. For the first several years, Kevin led teams responsible for the company's primary data center systems. He then moved into a series of technology leadership roles in retail banking, wholesale banking, brokerage and enterprise data warehousing functions. In 2003, Kevin began managing information technology for the Private Client Services group. In 2009, Kevin was named Chief Information Officer for Wealth, Retirement and Trust Technologies; as CIO, he lead an organization of 800 team members-- for whom he often generously served as coach or mentor. In January of 2015, Kevin was named head of Chief Data Office (CDO) Technology. This newly-created role was a perfect fit for Kevin's deep technology knowledge and strong leadership skills. The announcement of his new role generated a great deal of "buzz" and enthusiasm among all those who knew Kevin by his stellar reputation.

Kevin was an outstanding and impressive individual, with his unique sense of humor, charm, love of sports, and infectious laugh. He was known for being able to see both the "big picture" and the details. He was daring and bold yet never reckless; intelligent and articulate; hardworking; loyal and generous, and never reluctant to tell someone what he "really thought".

For this (and more) he will be forever loved and remembered, as a devoted husband to his wife of 36 years; a loving and proud father to his three children: Lauren, of Cleveland, Ohio; Connor of Manhattan Beach, California, and Caitlin of Los Angeles, California; and respected big brother to his eight surviving siblings.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland Ohio, where a fund for resident physicians and research has been established. Donations can be made in the name of Kevin O'Byrne to The MetroHealth Foundation to the Fund for the Department of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, 2500 MetroHealth Drive, Cleveland, OH 44109. Please direct any questions about how to contribute to the fund to Tom Harkness, Sr. Philanthropy Officer, The MetroHealth Foundation, by phone at 440-241-2426 or email to tharkness@metrohealth.org