• Subscribe to egroups
• ParentConnect
• Family School Handbook
• St. Monica Parish
• Forms
• Facilities Calendar

Fred Ahern's Biography

I attended St. Thomas Aquinas, and graduated from Jesuit in 1972. While attending Jesuit I began drawing the Yo Simity Sam character that would be the Jesuit mascot for many years to come. I received a scholarship to play football at The University of Texas @ Arlington. My last season was the fall of 1976, and graduated in May of 1977.

After college I joined our family insurance agency and worked as a property & casualty and Life insurance underwriter for the next 4 years.

In 1981, I changed directions and became the manager of an art gallery called The Wild Gallery. Two years later I purchased the business and the corner of Midway and LBJ became my home for the next 20 years. We specialized in some of the finest wildlife and western art in the world, and our picture framing was second to none.

In the early 90's I started coaching my son's baseball teams, and eventually began coaching football at St. Thomas Aquinas. STA football became a way of life, and I began to realize that working with young men on the athletic fields was my greatest passion.

In 2003, I closed my gallery location and built a large picture framing studio at my home. St. Monica hired me as an exploratory art (cartooning) teacher and I've been here ever since.

I now am working with the athletic department as a PE/Health instructor, Cartoon teacher, and am very proud to say the head football coach for 5th through 8th grades.

Besides my professional duties at St. Monica, I am still active in the picture framing and art business. I have been doing pastel portraits of animals, specializing in dogs (especially sporting breeds), horses, and prized livestock. I have a 15 year old son that is a baseballer at Hillcrest, am lawn and repair man for four rent houses, and personal servant to a Boston Terrier named "Spike".

I am very much looking forward to working with a great group of guys in the PE department, especially one of my personal hero's, Coach Dave Gross. I'll never reach the heights he has, but just coaching on Dave Gross Field is close enough for me.