Gerald Fitzgerald
COOPERSTOWN _ Gerald L. Fitzgerald, a World War II combat veteran, Catholic social justice leader and public relations executive, died Thursday, Nov. 18. 2010, at Otsego Manor in Cooperstown. He was 87.
His wife of 60 years, Eileen McGinty Fitzgerald, died in 2008.
Mr. Fitzgerald loved his family, his native New York City and The New York Times, lectoring at Mass, dispensing bear hugs and taking photographs.
He was born in the Bronx on May 30, 1923, the only child of James and Margaret Henry Fitzgerald. He graduated from LaSalle High School in Manhattan and entered Manhattan College, but he interrupted his education to enroll in the Army in 1942.
During the war he led a squad of machine gunners in the 103rd Infantry Division through France, Austria and Italy. After his discharge in 1945 he re-enrolled in college and graduated from Manhattan in 1947.
Mr. Fitzgerald married Eileen McGinty in 1948. They built a house in the Bronx and became active members of St. Benedict's Parish, with Mr. Fitzgerald taking leadership roles in the Holy Name Society and Catholic Charities and becoming one of the parish's most popular lectors. The Fitzgeralds joined the Christian Family Movement, a Catholic organization fostering social justice, and became lead couple in the Archdiocese of New York.
Mr. Fitzgerald had a long career on Wall Street in financial public relations, retiring from Doremus & Co. in 1986. He and Eileen then moved to Cooperstown, where he was an ombudsman for patients at Bassett Medical Center and a lector at St. Mary's "Our Lady of the Lake" parish.
He is survived by his seven children and their spouses, Maureen and Dennis Murray of Cooperstown, James and Ellen Fitzgerald of Pelham, Gerald and Linda Fitzgerald of the Bronx, Regina and John Donato of Fishkill, Timothy and Lisa Fitzgerald of Mohegan Lake, Kevin and Robin Fitzgerald of Newtown, Conn., and Margaret Buchanan of Cooperstown. There are 17 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
A joyful Memorial Mass will be celebrated at 1:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 22, at St. Mary's "Our Lady of the Lake" Roman Catholic Church, Elm Street, Cooperstown, with the Rev. John P. Rosson, Pastor, as celebrant.
Friends are invited to call from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday at the Tillapaugh Funeral Home, 28 Pioneer St., Cooperstown.
Memorial gifts in Mr. Fitzgerald's name may be made to the Christian Family Movement, c/o Maureen Murray, 379 County Highway 52, Cooperstown, NY 13326 or to The Friends of Bassett, c/o Bassett Healthcare, 1 Atwell Road, Cooperstown, NY 13326.
Funeral arrangements are by the Tillapaugh Funeral Home, Cooperstown.
