Fr. John Joseph FITZGERALD O.S.A..

I remember meeting Fr. Fitzgerald in the year 1979 when I became a pre-novitiate student at Villanova. I liked Fr. Fitzgerald from the start and asked him to be my spiritual director, and he said yes. I always liked his common sense and great faith. Among our many talks I always enjoyed his expression, "stick around kid you'll learn something." While I never got past the novitiate, and left the Augustinians, I always liked Fr. Fitzgerald and miss seeing him. My uncle Jack was a great man...

I have fond memories of "Jitz." He was our prior when I was a seminarian at Tolentine College. And when I left, I bought his '62 Volkswagen beetle from him. He really was a modern renaissance man, even building his own plane (and buzzing Tolentine!) He was a great influence on so many lives!

Good by dear friend.