WATERTOWN, NY —Â George Henry “Fitzie” Fitzgerald, 96, Watertown, died Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020, at Samaritan Summit Village where he had been cared for since November 2019 due to a pulmonary illness. His loving family was by his side.
Born Aug. 6, 1923, in Watertown, the son of the late George and Hazel (Robertson) Fitzgerald, he graduated in 1941 from Watertown High School.
He married Mary Kellogg in 1947.
George owned and operated a family dairy farm that supplied milk to the local community until 1965. He then worked as a Turret Lathe Operator at Carrier Corp., Syracuse, retiring after 30 years of service to the company.
George was a great family man, loving husband and father. His lifelong interests were gardening, cooking, cutting wood, football, farming, and in his youth, flying lessons.
He is survived by his wife of 72 years, Mary Fitzgerald; five children, Georgia Lafontaine, Camp Hill, PA, Peter Fitzgerald, Watertown, Susan Hanna, Watertown, Julie Fitzgerald Rojas and husband Carlos, Camp Hill, PA, and Martha Flanagan and husband William, Oyster Bay; 10 grandchildren, Matthew Lafontaine, Danielle Gray, Dr. Bryan, Megan, and Andrew Fitzgerald, Brendan Hanna, Sophie Rojas, and Fiona, Nialll, and Greta Flanagan; a great granddaughter, Alayna Lafontaine; and several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by three children, George Fitzgerald, Jr., and Robin and Patrick Fitzgerald, a grandson, Peter William Fitzgerald, Jr., and a sister, Frances F. Green.
A funeral service in loving memory of George will be held 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 18, at Cummings Funeral Service, Inc., Watertown. Interment will follow in the family plot in Glenwood Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to Hospice of Jefferson County, 1398 Gotham St., Watertown, NY 13601.
