John Fitzgerald

John Joel Fitzgerald, 92, passed away peacefully at home on Monday, April 17, 2023, with his family by his side. John was born January 31, 1931, in Unorganized Territory, Itasca County, Minnesota, the son of Patrick and Mary (Goodell) Fitzgerald. John was one of those people who others write stories about. His life was almost unimaginably full; for those who didn’t know him, it didn’t take long to convince them that he truly accomplished all that he said he did.

John’s family moved to Norton Street, Burton, in the early 1930s. In 1948, John graduated from Bendle High School, and at 17 he promptly joined the United States Marine Corps. Serving honorably in the Korean War, John was injured twice, and was awarded 2 Purple Heart medals and a bronze star. During his time in the Marine Corps, John served in many capacities, including Drill Instructor at San Diego. John loved to tell the story of his recruits marching in the opening credits of the Gomer Pyle, USMC, show in the early 1960s. John spent a lot of time with the cast, including Jim Neighbors and Frank Sutton, teaching Jim to march and Frank to drill the men. One of John’s favorite pictures was one of him and “Gomer” in uniform. John, who had enlisted at 17, earned the rank of E7 by the time he left the corps in 1965. He was immortalized in several of his former lieutenant James Brady’s books about the Korean War, including “The Coldest War”.

When jobs opened up at the Flint Police Department, John applied. He was hired in 1965, and survived a critical gunshot injury in 1966 while at a domestic dispute. While serving with the City of Flint, John was first a patrolman and then a sergeant. He took on the job as Co-ordinator of the Police Academy on St. John Street and then later the PSO program. He was also proud to have successfully completed the Special Tactical
Firearms School through the FBI Academy at Quantico in 1972, and he successfully completed training with the New York City Police Department at their explosives school. He also qualified as an Expert Marksman. John was awarded a Meritorious Citation and an Award of Merit Recognition for two separate events while at Flint. When John retired in 1981, he embarked on the second phase of his life. By that time, John had earned his pilot’s license and had owned several airplanes. He flew all over the country and to several islands in the Caribbean. He next decided to sail around the world, and he made several trips on his sailboat to Florida, the Dry Tortugas, and Albacore Island in the Bahamas. He had a 30’ Grampian, Yellowbird, on which he was ready to leave for his Grand Adventure. He made it to Florida before he decided it wasn’t any fun without the love of his life, Theresa. John returned to Flint, and they were married within six weeks.

They started life together in Mt. Morris, then moved to Byron with their daughter, Amanda. During the next few years John kept busy driving a semitruck for both North American Van Lines and Mayflower, later working as a Greyhound driver, then as a driver instructor. His goal was to put his wife through college. Once he’d accomplished that and Amanda began to show an interest in fastpitch softball, John, who had been a pitcher in the mens AAA Fastpitch League, taught her all he knew. He couldn’t have been more proud when his daughter broke the National Strike Out record in 1999. It was his pleasure to have coached her, both in travel teams and at Byron High School. Once Amanda graduated, John and Theresa spent their next 12 summers living on a boat in the North Channel. Never one to dock-sit, John’s favorite thing to do every summer was to find new anchorages where they could stay a few days or longer. They had a couple of years of wonderful adventures in a motor home visiting Yellowstone, Glacier, and Mt. Rushmore, but the call of the water was too great and pulled them both back to northern Lake Huron and places like Tobermory, Baie Fine, and Turnbull Island. John was still sailing and maintaining their boat, by then a Nordic Tug named Sam’s Girl, into his 80s.

John is survived by his loving wife and best friend of nearly 40 years, Theresa (Stadler) Fitzgerald, whom he called Sam; sisters-in-law, Melanie (Craig Purcell) Bourdow and Kathryn Stadler, brother-in-law, Fred (Kim) Stadler; step-mother-in-law, Linda Stadler; step-father-in-law, Robert Batchelder; many nieces and nephews including Bev (Mike) Thompson; Kay Clingenpeel; Holly (Jason) Blumenschein; Aaron (Jordan Yax) Stadler;
Samantha (Kris Reittenbach) Stadler; Karli (Dane Lesperance) , Chessa, and Hogan Bourdow; great nieces and nephews, Jayton, Triston, Ameris, and Ashton Blumenschein; and family by choice, Megghan (Bruce) Seidel. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Amanda; his parents, Patrick and Mary Fitzgerald; mother-in-law, Pauline Batchelder; father-in-law, Fred Stadler; sister and brother-in-law, Betty and Roy Clingenpeel; sister and brother-in-law, Patricia and William Witham; brother and sisterin-law, Paul and Arlene Fitzgearld; nephew, Don Clingenpeel; and life-long friend, Albert Phillion.

In accordance with John’s wishes, he will be cremated with burial service pending at a later date at Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly. No service at this time. Please consider offering his name for prayers at the church of your choice. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in John’s name would be gratefully welcomed by St. Jude Hospital or the Wounded Warrior Project.

John was a loving husband with a wonderful sense of humor. He will be deeply and sincerely missed by his loving wife, Theresa, and all who loved him.