Obituaries

Madison - Patrick Robert Ahern died Tuesday, September 26, at 86, succumbing to Alzheimer’s disease. He passed peacefully at home surrounded by his family. He is survived by his wife Katherine, children Joan, John (Kathy Kermott), and Lee (Colleen), his grandchildren Robert Wolfgang Moore (Cicely), Ryan Moore (Kristen), Abigail, Eleanor, and Shaughn, great grandchildren Garrett and Maverick Moore, and siblings William (Myra), Richard (Cathy) and Sharon Schrantz.

Pat was born in Albert Lea Minnesota in 1936 to Garrett Patrick and Marion Dorothy (Doran) Ahern. He graduated from Albert Lea high school, where his father was a math teacher and football coach and Pat excelled at math and football, as well as other classes and sports. He promptly earned bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. degrees in math from the University of Minnesota. His studies were supported with a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship, awarded in 1960. Also, while at “The U” he met Kay, his wife and partner for the next 66 years. He remained a productive scholar and fierce athletic competitor throughout his life, but was reliably mild mannered, affable, and caring in the ample time he dedicated to family and friends. He will be remembered by many as a competitive local handball player in the 1960s and a champion regional road cyclist in the 1970s.

Pat and Kay’s three children had all been born when the family left Minnesota in 1963, moving from St. Paul, to Princeton, to Los Angeles, and then to Madison as Pat juggled the responsibilities of raising a family and of being a junior faculty member in a demanding academic discipline. After Pat earned tenure in 1970, he took the family for a year’s sabbatical to Pisa, Italy, the first of many international trips for the Ahern family. At various times over the years Pat was fluent in Spanish, French, Italian, and Serbo-Croatian, and conversational in other languages. Prominent mathematicians from around the world knew him as a co-author, mentor, and friend. The life he shared with his family was rich with explorations, adventures, cultures, and cuisines.

During his 42-year career at the University of Wisconsin-Madison he instructed thousands of undergraduates, mentored dozens of graduate students, collaborated with colleagues, and produced a steady stream of innovative research. Pat's area was analysis, the complexity of which is reflected in the title of his most cited paper according to Web of Science: “A theorem of Brown-Halmos type for Bergman space Toeplitz operators.” He built elegant, symbolic models in pursuit of math’s most elusive secrets, exercises in thought every bit as long, difficult, and lonely as one of his epic and grueling bike rides through the rolling hills of Southern Wisconsin. Time vanquished Pat’s ability to continue these pursuits, but in his prime he thought astoundingly deeply, and could climb impressive heights with enviable strength.

Pat will be remembered fondly by his family, colleagues, collaborators, friends, and students. In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes donations in Pat’s name to Agrace hospice in Madison, WI, or to the Alzheimer’s Association.

To view and sign this guestbook, please visit: www.ryanfuneralservice.com.

Ryan Funeral Home & Cremation Services

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