January 2, 2012

CALCIUM, N.Y.  —  Paul F. Fitzgerald Sr., 91, of Gracey Road, passed away Sunday, Jan. 1, at Country Manor Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Carthage, where he had resided since July.

Calling hours will be  4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 4, at Cummings Funeral Service, Inc., Watertown. The funeral Mass will be celebrated noon Thursday, Jan. 5, at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church with Rev. Richard Kennedy officiating. Burial will follow in Glenwood Cemetery. 

Born Aug. 11, 1920, in Cape Vincent, son of Frank D. and Edith Gamble Fitzgerald, he attended Cape Vincent High School.

On Jan. 26, 1944 he entered the Army, Company F, 9th Infantry. He served in Ardennes, Central Europe, and Rhineland and received the Bronze Star, and the American Campaign, European African Middle Eastern Campaign, Good Conduct, and World War II Victory Medals. He was honorably discharged April 14, 1946.

He married Doris M. Campbell on Aug. 22, 1945, at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church with Rev. Benoit C. Dostie officiating.

For over forty-one years he worked at New York Air Brake, spending nineteen of those years as a foreman, and retired in 1982. He had also been supervisor for the Town of Pamelia for fourteen years. After he retired, the couple moved to Port Charlotte, Fla., and returned to the Watertown area in 2000. 

He was a communicant of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church. He was a life member of both American Legion Post 583, Dexter and VFW Post 1400, Watertown. Paul was also a member of Elks Lodge #496 and an exempt member of the North Pole Fire Department.

He enjoyed playing cards, gardening, and spending time with his family

Besides his loving wife of sixty-six years, Doris, he is survived by his four children, Paul F. and Betty A. Fitzgerald, Jr., Watertown, Ann F. and James Narrow, Calcium, Ellen F. and Mark Larkins, Watertown, and Peter J. and Sandra Fitzgerald, Evans Mills; his three grandchildren, Darcy Green, Michael Larkins, and Matthew P. Fitzgerald; his great granddaughter, Madeline Green; and several nieces, nephews, and cousins. 

He was predeceased by his son, John D. Fitzgerald, July 5, 1976, two brothers, Oakley and Harlow Fitzgerald, three sisters, Gertrude Frasher, Genevieve Madill, and Jeanne Plantz, and two half-sisters, Marie Moore and Iora Heinrich.

Donations in his name may be made to the Sacred Heart Foundation, 668 Thompson St., Watertown, NY 13601.

Information provided by Cummings Funeral Service and Newzjunky.com, Watertown