James Patrick Fitzgerald 1924-2006

FITZGERALD, DENAULT, BRUMETT, KOONCE, DUCAT, MAILOUX

Posted By: David Hellwege (email)
Date: 6/25/2006 at 23:55:32

James Patrick Fitzgerald of Bourbonnais, Ill., died Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2006, following a brief illness. He was a devoted son and brother, a brave soldier, a diligent craftsman, an active teacher and leader in the local Catholic community and a loving husband and father who blended affection, wisdom and good example in the highest degree.

He was born the second child of James Patrick and Irene Lyons Fitzgerald of Boone on April 21, 1924.

In the summer of 1844, he flew 30 missions as lead radio operator in B-17s over Germany and occupied France. After his service with the Eighth Air Force, he settled in Kankakee, Ill., as an employee of the Illinois Bell Telephone Company and worked for there until retiring in 1984.

In 1947, he married Norma L. Denault of Herscher, Ill., and with her was the devoted parent of seven children. In his work, he was a highly skilled and reliable craftsman and after becoming a manager at Illinois Bell he won great admiration, respect and loyalty from those whom he supervised.

He was a member of the Bradley, Ill., posts of the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Knights of Columbus, the Telephone Pioneers and the Holy Name Society. He was active in the St. Patrick parish of Kanakee, Ill., and then the St. Joseph parish of Bradley, Ill.

He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Norma; a son, Dr. James Fitzgerald, Knoxville, Tenn., and wife Dr. Palmira Brummett; daughters Leanna Koonce of Phoenix, Ariz., and husband Dr. Frank Koonce, Mareen Ducat of Ashkum, Ill., and husband Leroy Ducat, Joan Mailloux of Bourbonnais, Ill., and husband David Mailloux, Angela Parilac of Lowell, Ind., and husband Michael Parilac, Dianne Klimchuk of Bourbonnais and husband John Klimchuk, and Sharon Clark of Bourbonnais, Ill., and husband Glenn Clark; 17 grandchildren; sisters Marylee Doerr of Windsor, Colo., Therese Riordan and Yvonne Elsberry of Boone, and Joan Snyder of Omaha, Neb. He was preceded in death by his parents of Boone; elder brother John of Boone; brother Donald of Fort Dodge; and brother Leo of Boone.

He rests now in peace, but lives forever in spirit. A funeral mass will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Friday at St. Joseph's in Bradley, Ill., with burial at All Saints Cemetery in Bourbonnais. Visitation will be held 4-8 p.m. Thursday at Clancy-Gernon Funeral Home in Bourbonnais. Offerings may be made for masses or family wishes. In lieu of flowers, donations should be made to Mother Teresa's Home for Orphans (Missionaries of Charity, 1646 Park Road, NW, Washington, D.C., 20010) or to Hospice of Kankakee Valley, Ill. Clancy-Gernon Funeral Home can be contacted at (815) 932-1214 and guestbook is available at clancygernon.com.

[Source: Boone News-Republican via the WWW.]