William Earl "Fitzy" Fitzpatrick U.S. Navy (retired)

New London - William Earl "Fitzy" Fitzpatrick, U.S. Navy (retired), 72, of New London, died Thursday, Oct. 24 2013, after a short illness.

He was born in Rector, Ark., on Oct 26, 1940, the son of William H. and Maude (Bowers) Fitzpatrick. After retiring from the Navy in 1989, he had several different jobs before settling into corporate security work. He was working for Securitas at Pfizer at the time of his death.

Fitzy was active in SUBVETS, Groton Base, an organization for retired submariners. He was also a long time sports official at all levels from youth sports to college. Fitzy spent more than 40 years officiating football, baseball, soccer, softball, and basketball games. He was a current board member of the Eastern Connecticut Board of both Approved Football Officials and Approved Umpires, and a past president of the Football Officials board.

In 2007, he received a Football Official Recognition Award from the SECT Chapter National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame in recognition of a lifetime of devotion to amateur High School football.

He is survived by by his wife, Janice; three children, William J. (Kelly) of Ohio, Michael (Marion) of Connecticut and Barbara (Gary) of Georgia; two brothers, Buster (Lynda) and Jerry (Judy) of California; eight grandchildren; numerous nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions be made in his memory to the Jack Mack Fund, which provides scholarships to athletes in eastern Connecticut. Donations may be mailed to the Jack Mack Fund, c/o Floyd Chaney, 650 Richmond Hill Rd, Uncasville, CT 06382.

Condolence messages may be left on Fitzy's memorial page at www.neilanfuneralhome.com.