Obituary of Father Thomas W. Ahern

The Reverend Thomas W. Ahern, retired priest of the Diocese of Norwich, died Thursday, June 16, 2016, at Middlesex Hospital in Middletown. He was 92. Father Ahern is fondly remembered as a caring, generous, prayerful and joyful priest. Father Ahern was born in Middletown, on November 23, 1923, son of the late Thomas and Mary Ellen (Cahill) Ahern. He prepared for the priesthood at St. Thomas Seminary in Bloomfield, CT and St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore, MD. On May 6, 1948, Father Ahern was ordained a priest at St. Joseph Cathedral in Hartford by The Most Reverend Henry J. O'Brien, D.D., Archbishop of the Hartford Archdiocese. Father Ahern's first parish assignment was at St. Joseph Church in Chester, then within the Archdiocese of Hartford. He next served from 1957 - 1960 at St. Mary's Church in Portland, officially his first assignment within the newly formed Diocese of Norwich. In November of 1960, he was assigned to St. Mary Star of the Sea Church in New London. Two years later, Father Ahern was appointed Pastor of Our Lady of Grace on Fishers Island, NY He would subsequently be appointed Pastor of St. Peter's in Higganum and Sacred Heart Church in Groton. In 1976, Father Ahern became the Pastor of St. Joseph Church in Chester, the parish where he served his original first assignment shortly after his ordination in 1948. Father Ahern further served the Diocese of Norwich as Judge of the Diocesan Tribunal for a five-year term as appointed by Bishop Daniel A. Hart. Father Ahern also served for many years as the Dean of the Old Saybrook Deanery. Father Ahern retired from active ministry in October, 1998. In recent years, he had been in residence at Christ the King Church in Old Lyme. Father Ahern is predeceased by his sisters, Marian Ahern, Rita Ahern Dowling, and Ann Patricia Ahern Hurley. He leaves his nieces, Sister Denise Farrands ,O.S.U. of West Haven, and Joan Dowling of Cromwell, nephews, Thomas Dowling of Cromwell, Philip Dowling of Middletown and James Hurley of Cape Coral Florida. The Transfer of the Body will take place on Tuesday, June 21, 2016 at 4:00PM in Christ the King Church, 1 McCurdy Road in Old Lyme. Visitation for Father Ahern will then be held until 7:00PM. A Parish Mass will be celebrated for his repose in the Church at 7:00PM. The Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Wednesday, June 22, 2016 at 10:30 AM. Interment will follow at 2:30PM in St. Joseph Cemetery, 48 Middlesex Avenue in Chester. Memorial contributions may be made in Father Ahern's name to Christ the King Church, 1 McCurdy Rd, Old Lyme, CT 06371 or to The Ursuline Sisters of Tildonk, Provincial Office, 81-15 Utopia Parkway, Jamaica, NY 11432. To share a memory of Father Ahern or send a condolence to his family, please visit www.rwwfh.com. Arrangements by the Robinson, Wright & Weymer Funeral Home, Centerbrook.