The Legacy of Ryan O'Brien

Founder of the Mason Contractors Association of California (MCAC), Ryan O'Brien passed away Sunday night, November 24, 2019. He was 97 years old. Ryan was born March 19, 1922, and comes from a family of masons going all the way back to 1854. He owned his own mason contracting business from 1948-1962 before he founded MCAC in 1963. Ryan retired from the MCAC in 2009 at 87 years old. 

His work and efforts ranged from rubbing elbows with presidents such as Ronald Reagon, building the largest commercial exhibit in the history of Los Angeles' County Fair– completely out of masonry. Ryan was a lobbyist, has gone toe-to-toe with state, local, and national labor groups in the efforts to establish the first federal funded minority masonry apprentice program. He was also an MCAA Hall of Fame member and earned the Purple Heart award during WWII. We had the pleasure of interviewing Ryan for his MCAA Hall of Fame induction in 2016. He was one-of-a-kind and will certainly be missed!