Humor & Warmth

I'm sure most who knew him will remember Fitz for his humor. He seemed to always be at the ready with a witty remark to almost any comment or situation. Just before he passed, he was sitting at a common meal with me and my husband, David. We were both laughing with Fitz and his witty remarks, as usual. He always had a way of helping me keep my sense of humor and perspective when it came to some of the more mundane and/or challenging aspects of living in cohousing.

But, I also want to remember Fitz for his compassionate, warm, kindness. You could see it instantly come out in him whenever he held his grandson. The particular event I will always be grateful to Fitz for was the time he came to check on me with a doctor's "house call" after I crashed my bike. I was very disoriented at first, and a little afraid. Fitz came and sat on the edge of my bed. He checked me over and reassured me (and my husband and son) that I was going to be just fine.

Thanks, Fitz!

You are still with us and we remember you with all the warmth you showed to us!

Marj Hopkins

My Friend Fitz

I can remember sharing with Fitz many times. He always gave the best hugs! I can remember when I would ask him how he was he would say "grouchy" or "grumpy". But he just couldn't pull it off and we would laugh about it. I remember with great joy watching him hold all the babies. He loved children, expecially his own. I will always remember him as an incredibly wonderful and kind man who really cared about people. Fitz, you are safe now and starting a new journey. Please know that I will never forget you. I love you.
Karen Henderson

Baking cookies

Members of the community got together tonight to bake cookies in the Common House for the services tomorrow. I understand that chocolate chip cookies were Fitz's favorite, and we loved being involved -- hearing the children (and adults!) laugh as we spilled eggs, stirred the dough with all our might, and filled the kitchen with the warm smell of baking goodness.


Heather

From the Gazette

...Fitzgerald was remembered Thursday as kindhearted and generous, with a dry sense of a humor, ebullient smile and a passion for caring for his patients. He left a legacy of volunteerism, friends and colleagues said, sometimes offering his services free at an outreach clinic in La Junta and washing dishes at soup kitchens. In his free time, he enjoyed traveling, reading and spending time with his grandchildren.

"He was a great guy - very warm, very generous," said Bryan Rommel-Ruiz, a neighbor in Casa Verde Commons, a co-housing community in which residents share management duties such as landscaping and upkeep.

Fitzgerald and his wife, Kim, lived in a large, cream-colored duplex next door to a common building where residents share dinner twice a week. He could often be seen playing baseball with his grandson in the complex and liked to include other young children from the community, neighbors said.

Funeral services will be at 2:00 PM on Wednesday, November 26, 2008 at First United Methodist Church, 420 N Nevada Ave. Memorial contributions may be made to Community Health Center or ESM First Fund, a charitable fund for prescription medication, in memory of Dr. Edward Fitzgerald.