James Elmer Fitzgerald Jr.
1930-2023
Cutchogue resident from 1986 to 2013 James E. Fitzgerald Jr. passed away peacefully on Oct. 3, 2023, succumbing to the challenges of declining health. He was 92 years old.
His family moved to Hollis Park Gardens, Queens, in 1936 when James was 6 years old. Some of his fondest memories were those early years, when he met neighbor Ronnie Zwicke and they attended P.S. 35, their local public grammar school that was two blocks away. The two were inseparable and mastered the art of mischief well into their teens, and were lifelong friends.
Jim attended high school at LaSalle Military Academy in Oakdale, N.Y., on Long Island. He met the love of his life, Dorothy Burger, at Sun & Surf Beach Club — a significant part of the family’s history — in 1950. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering at M.I.T. in 1952 and got married weeks later. Two years owed the U.S. Army via R.O.T.C. got Jim and Dot to Fort McClellan in Anniston, Ala. where, as a Chemical Corps officer, he was part of the logistics team serving in the Korean War. Jim’s career in pharmaceutical manufacturing began at Pfizer and ended at DuPont, with Richardson-Merrell and Endo Laboratories in between. His professional experience, detail-orientation, computer skills and entrepreneurial inclinations made Jim well-suited to launch Proper-T Services on Long Island’s North Fork – his small property permit services business that he owned and operated for 28 years. It kept him intellectually stimulated and relevant!
Jim and Dot raised their four daughters on Long Island in Garden City, N.Y. and after that enjoyed many years in Cutchogue, N.Y. and Chicago, Ill., before moving to an assisted living community in Dover, N.H.
Jim is preceded in death by his beloved wife of 70 years, Dot (2022), youngest daughter, Trisha McGlynn (2013), and her husband, TJ McGlynn (2020). Jim is survived by his daughters and their husbands Diane Fitzgerald and Burt Richmond (Chicago, Ill.), Sue and John Hopkins (Portsmouth, N.H.) and Carol Fitzgerald and Clyde Newman (Shell Knob, Mo.); his grandchildren Emily and Eric Krohne (Portsmouth, N.H.) and Sean Hopkins (Orlando, Fla.); great grandsons Andrew and Mason Krohne (Portsmouth, N.H.); sister-in-law Carol Allison (Cutchogue, N.Y.); brother-in-law Vinny Burger (Elmhurst, N.Y.) and several nieces and nephews.
In remembrance of Jim, consider making a donation to the Cutchogue New Suffolk Free Library in Cutchogue, N.Y., where he was chairman of the board and a committed volunteer for many years. Donate at cutchoguelibrary.org or send a check to: Friends of the Library, Cutchogue New Suffolk Free Library, P.O. Box 935, Cutchogue, NY 11935.
Either way, please note “In Memory of Library Past Chairman Jim Fitzgerald.”
This is a paid notice.
