Ahren M. Conklin

I was still a teenager when we met in early 2000.  He was in the Navy, stationed at sub school in CT, and was both handsome and charming. I was in college and was head-over-heels and would drive to his base every weekend to see him.  After college, my first job moved us to Los Angeles together, a dream we both shared.  He was a California boy and had missed his ocean.  

We enjoyed four incredible years together in Redondo Beach while I found my dream job and he graduated from Loyola Marymount.  A tragic accident with his mother brought us to Texas for a year, but at eight months pregnant with our first little girl, we found our way back to CT to be close to my family and to start our own.

He was a natural father, and couldn’t have been more proud to be one. There was absolutely no fear. From the moment our babies were born, he would ninja tie their swaddles with enviable confidence and place that precious little bundle in a football hold while he multi-tasked his video games.  He loved nothing more than to strap on the Baby Bjorn and proudly parade them around anywhere and everywhere. 

Our three little princesses – Aurora (Rory), Grace and Lily – were our whole world.  He loved to hold them, spoil them with treats, throw them up on his shoulders or high over his head in the pool.  We always talked of wanting more children and our bonus, Cailyn, marched right into our lives and he embraced her as his own.  He would talk to all his girls about theologies, well before they could conceive of what it was all about, and challenged them to be curious about everything.

His mom gave him her kind heart, her artistic talent and a great compassion for animals.  He took all three gifts to the extreme and shared each with his children as well.  Our home is full of beautiful art, enough animals to qualify us as a zoo and more love than one can imagine.

He had a very special relationship with his dad and his brothers, Ryan and Noah, all of whom were incredibly compassionate and fiercely loyal to him and our whole family.  His brother’s wives have been some of my truest friends and sisters and they loved him as their own brother.

Ahren’s love of the ocean was only surpassed by the love he had for his girls. We would bring those two loves together every chance we got, enjoying summers on Block Island - where we had been engaged and married - and many trips to Hermosa Beach in Los Angeles – where we had spent our early twenties dreaming about our future together. 

He was the love of my life, my best friend, my partner and I will be thankful every day that I got to spend almost twenty years of my life with him. 

We will celebrating Ahren’s beautiful life with close family on Block Island and in Los Angeles in the coming weeks.  Interment will be private.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in his name to Jamie’s Run for Connecticut Children’s: https://www.jamiesrun.org/.