Patrick Fahey, the co-founder of New Orleans, Louisiana-based AmeriPure Oysters, died suddenly on 1 November at the age of 65.
AmeriPure has long been one of the largest suppliers of Gulf of Mexico half-shell oysters. Fahey was an advocate for Louisiana oysters through the company, particularly in the wake of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that threatened seafood in the region.
Well before the spill, Fahey was a strong advocate for Louisiana oysters, and a part of the development of the Ameripure process allowing for safer raw oysters with reduced amounts of pathogens that gained the attention of the New York Times in 1996. That process is still in use by the company today.
A native of Chicago, Fahey initially moved to Louisiana over 30 years ago and joined the Delta Queen Steamboat Company, before joining AmeriPure Oysters. He has been survived by his son, Sean David, and his two sisters, Nancy Kidder of Chicago, and Maria Fahey of Houston, according to his obituary.
