John Maurice Fitzgerald

John Maurice Fitzgerald, 82, who retired in 1983 as a lineman and foreman for C&P Telephone Company of Bethesda, Md., died of congestive heart failure on January 3, 2010, at his home in Augusta, W.Va. John was born in Montvale, Va., to Halsey Clay and Mary Elizabeth McDaniel Fitzgerald where he grew up working the family farm and, as part of the war effort, driving the school bus for his fellow classmates and volunteering at the local fire departments. Upon graduation in 1945 from Montvale High School he joined the United States Navy and served from 1945 to 1948 as a pilot in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and in Munitions in San Francisco, Calif. After his retirement from the phone company, John continued his life as a gentleman farmer in West Virginia on his farm along the North River. Survivors include his wife of 57 years, Dorothy Vaughan Fitzgerald; two sons, Jerry Maurice Fitzgerald, of Augusta, W.Va., and Tracy Lee Fitzgerald, of Capon Bridge, W.Va.; two daughters, Kelly Jo Fitzgerald, of Augusta, W.Va., and Dawn Marie Fitzgerald, of Chester, Md.; one sister, Gladys Mangum, of Lanham, Md.; two brothers, Robert Fitzgerald, of Capon Bridge, W.Va., and Larry Fitzgerald, of Islamorada, Fla.; three grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. John was preceded in death by an infant son, Roger Dale Fitzgerald; three sisters, Ruth Jackson, Alma Murphy and Dorothy Doolittle; and a brother, Joy Fitzgerald. Friends and Family are invited to attend a "Celebration of John's Life" 1 p.m. on Saturday, January 9, 2010, in the Crystal Room at the American Legion in Capon Bridge, W.Va.