Obituary of John-F. Ahern

Ahern, John F. ALBANY John F. (Jack) Ahern of Troy and Bolton Landing, died peacefully August 9, 2009 at Daughters of Sarah Nursing Center in Albany. He fought for years against the frontal-temporal dementia that eventually claimed most of his physical and mental abilities. Jack was retired from the General Electric Company, where he was a patent counsel in the large steam turbine-generator operations. He was the husband of Mary A. Marcincin Ahern, who predeceased him in 1991. Jack was born on the east side of Troy on August 16, 1923, to the late Andrew G. Ahern and Matilda B. Pistor Ahern and spent his early years in Troy before moving with his family to Philadelphia. He graduated from North Catholic High School in Philadelphia and joined the U.S. Army-Air Force in 1942, serving for three years in the Pacific Theatre. After the war ended, he attended Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa., graduating in 1949. In Bethlehem, he met Mary Marcincin, the love of his life. They married in 1950 and soon thereafter moved to Washington, DC, where Jack attended George Washington University Law School while they both worked on Capitol Hill. After graduation from law school in 1953, Jack secured admission to the patent bar and then moved to Schenectady where he resumed his career at General Electric, first working at the research lab in Niskayuna and eventually transferring downtown to the main plant. After the birth of their daughter, Barbara, they moved to the town of Charlton in Saratoga County where Jack became involved in Republican politics, a lifetime avocation. In 1961, he was elected supervisor of Charlton. He went on to hold positions in the Charlton and Saratoga County Republican committees. In 1971, he was appointed to the board of directors of the new Capital District Transportation Authority by Governor Rockefeller, where he served for ten years. In addition to his work and his involvement in politics, Jack built a summer home in Bolton Landing on Lake George, the lake he loved, where the family spent every summer. In 1982, Jack retired from General Electric and soon thereafter, he and Mary moved to Siesta Key in Sarasota, Fla. where they spent most of the year and where Jack became a member of the Gulf Gate Rotary Club, becoming a Paul Harris Fellow. In the years before his death, Jack lived with his daughter, Barbara and her husband Conard, in Brunswick. Jack's family extends thanks to our good friend, Jeanne Dodge, and the staff and volunteers of Albany Community Hospice, all of whom brought light into Jack's final months. Jack is survived by his daughter, Barbara Ahern and her husband Conard Holton; his sisters-in-law, Margaret Korpics, Catherine Cassano and Helen Marcincin, all of Bethlehem, Pa. and Ann Marcincin of Tamaqua, Pa.; and many nieces and nephews. In addition to his wife Mary, he was also predeceased by his brother, Andrew G. Ahern Jr. and his wife Rita Haley Ahern of Wilmington, Del. Wake services will be held on Friday at the Connell Funeral Home in Bethlehem, Pa. at 9:00 a.m., followed by a funeral Mass at the Incarnation of Our Lord Parish at 10:00 a.m. (formerly Sts. Cyril and Methodius Church) and burial in Holy Savior Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of John F. Ahern can be made to Community Hospice of Albany County, 295 Valley View Blvd., Rensselaer, NY 12144 or the Alzheimer's Center of Albany Medical Center, c/o Albany Medical Center Foundation, P.O. Box 8928, Albany, NY 12208.