Memorial for Marty Ahern planned for April 20
By Jess VanScoy | Special to The Current
It’s her smells I remember most. Bijan perfume. Chivas on ice. Her famous pot roast.
Or perhaps it was her sounds. The dangle of her bracelets. Shuffling feet in flip flops. The flip of her Zippo lighter.
She was my hero — everything I’ve ever done was because of her. She was a feminist before it was cool. She ran her own businesses in the 1980s and ’90s. When I was 13, she plopped a copy of Our Bodies, Ourselves in my lap and told me it was required reading. Her love of photography led me to major in it in college. And by the time I was 19, taking a page from her book, I began traveling the world by myself.
Anyone who knew Marty knew she was tough as nails. But once you got past the shell, there was a softness. She was someone who would spend hours peeling you grapefruit from her yard, lend money when you needed it, and offer clippings from her gardens.
There will be an informal service at 1 p.m. on April 20 in front of her house. I’m sorry it’s so late after her death, but she liked the warmth more. Please join me in remembering this beautiful woman and help spread her ashes.
