Bernadine Thompson Schilder Fitzgerald

1924 - 2003

Bernadine Thompson Schilder Fitzgerald entered this life on March 24, 1924, and entered eternal life on Sunday, Feb. 9, 2003, in her 79th year.

Funeral: Mrs. Fitzgerald will lie in state in the Drawing Room of Thompson's Harveson & Cole Funeral Home after 3 p.m. Tuesday. The family will receive friends 2 to 3 p.m. Wednesday when services will be conducted. The Rev. Timothy Thompson will officiate. Burial: Greenwood Memorial Park.

A native of Fort Worth, educated at North Side High School and TCU, daughter of the late Guy Wilbur Thompson Sr., and Eula Beatrice Richardson Thompson, she was the widow of Lt. Col. Otto Paul Schilder Jr., USAF (ret.). As a couple rearing their family while in military service during World War II, for more than a quarter of a century they were stationed in various posts in the U.S., Europe and Asia.

Later she married a family friend, Thomas Joseph Fitzgerald, and was a resident of Irving for 15 years, returning to make her home in Fort Worth after his death. Bernadine was a consummate bridge player, an avid reader with special interests in history and politics, and an accomplished cook. She enjoyed sharing her interests and talents with her family and friends.

Active pallbearers and honorary pallbearers will be her grandchildren and nephews and nieces.

Survivors: Sons, Otto Paul Schilder III and wife, Jean, and their children, Janet Kay and Meredith Michelle, Melanie Ann and Michelle Renee, Donald Guy Schilder and wife, Shari, and their children, Rebecca and Jefferson; brother, Guy Thompson and wife, Kathleen; nieces and nephews, Lucinda Thompson, Ann Bernardy, the Rev. Timothy Thompson, Martin Thompson, Martha Bartolowits; and Col. Joseph Francis Misenko, USAF (ret.), a devoted longtime friend.