Frank Xavier Aherne was born in Dublin, Ireland on June 14, 1936. He was the sixth of seven children and spent years as a youngster with his grandparents on their farm in County Cork in Ireland.
Frank earned his B.S.A. and M.S. from University College Dublin. In 1968, he earned his Ph.D. in Animal Nutrition from Iowa State University. Frank and Phyllis were married in Ames, Iowa in 1967. After Iowa, Frank and Phyllis moved back to Dublin where Frank taught and researched at U. C. Dublin before coming to Canada in 1972 as part of the faculty of Animal Science at University of Alberta in Edmonton.
His wit and enthusiasm as a teacher garnered the respect of his peers and the gratitude of his students; his gifts as a lecturer brought many invitations for opportunities to travel and speak at meetings and conferences all over the world.
After his retirement from U of A in 1995, his involvement with the Alberta Pig Co. allowed him to explore his interest in the management side of the swine industry. He received many awards for his work at U of A and in the industry but by far the most meaningful to Frank was the Dr. F.X Aherne Prize for Innovative Pork Production, which is given annually at the Banff Pork Seminar.
Although he moved to Vancouver Island in 2001, he continued to lecture internationally and contribute directly to the Alberta swine industry until the week before he entered the hospital.
Frank also enjoyed gardening, the birds on the Island, wine making, general "putzing" around and his involvement with his church and community.
In Memoriam, January 2006