Obituary of Mary Therese Ahern

Always one to appreciate beauty, Mary Therese Ahern now sees perfection, in our Creator’s art. On Wednesday, May 12, 2010, we bid loving farewell as she joined our parents in eternal rest. Celebrations of her life will be held on Friday, May 14th. from 3 to 5 p.m. at Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service in Iowa City and on Sunday, May 16th. from 10 am to 12 noon at Conway Funeral Home in Cresco. The Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at the Notre Dame Catholic Church in Cresco. Burial will follow at the Calvary Cemetery in Cresco, near generations of Ahern relatives. Memorial donations can be made in Mary’s memory to Iowa City Hospice (1025 Wade Street, Iowa City, IA 52240). Online condolences can be sent for Mary’s family through the web @ www.gayandciha.com. Mary Therese arrived November 8, 1944, first of five children born to Vergil Francis and Mary Frances (Thoma) Ahern in Cresco, Iowa, where she grew up attending Assumption Grade School and graduating Notre Dame High School. Art was her constant companion. She attended St. Mary School of Practical Nursing in Rochester, MN; graduated Hamilton Business College in Mason City, IA, and Loras College, Dubuque, IA; and worked accounting 33 years for John Deere Dubuque Works. She moved from Dubuque to Iowa City in 2008. In August 1996 at University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Mary received a lung transplant, an anonymous gift that gave her family nearly fourteen more years of her gentle presence and humor. Mary cared for our parents until their deaths, Vergil in 1980 and Mary Frances in 2004. Mary Therese and our mother researched and published the family’s history, an undertaking over many years, discovering and creating wonderful relationships. Mary played piano, guitar, and melodica; served Catholic Worker House and as liturgist, Peace and Justice Activist, and children mentor; was member and officer of The Third Order of Franciscans; discovered fossils; and engaged art over the years through photography, writing, painting, sketching, and many other forms. Mary Therese Ahern is survived by her siblings: Barbara LeGrand of Platteville WI, Susan Kratz of Iowa City, Mark (Patricia) of Cresco, and Paul (Shirley), Marengo, IA; by nephews Robert and Michael LeGrand, Todd Kratz, and Shawn, Jeremiah, and David Ahern and niece Amy LeGrand; by great nephews and nieces; and by aunts, an uncle, and cousins. Mary was courageous, with dignity and grace, throughout her final days with colon cancer. Heartfelt thank you to Iowa City Hospice personnel, especially Penny and Tia, who provided gentle loving care.