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Diane Fitzgerald Obituary
November 23, 1933 - January 7, 2020
San Jose
Diane G. Fitzgerald born on November 23, 1933 in Hollywood, CA, died peacefully on January 7, 2020 in San Jose CA.
Daughter of Leon Pierre Gendron and Mary Alice Scully, sister of the late Peter Gendron (Patricia), sister-in-law of Jean Yeakel; she was the devoted wife of the late John J. Fitzgerald, mother of Michael (Denise), the late Catherine, Paul, Eileen (Danny) and Christine; grandmother of Brian (Tony), Breane and Bethany (David), Jake Bevans, Cody (Alison), Gunner (Kylie) and the late Jessie Franks, great grandchildren, nieces, and nephews.
After graduating from Our Lady of Corvallis High School in Studio City, Diane entered the Congregation of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary at the novitiate in Tarrytown, New York. Called home after three years to care for her distressed parents, she met and married John in 1954 when both were working at Weston Hydraulics Company in Van Nuys, CA. In addition to raising five children, she was the partner in her husband's two small businesses in Los Gatos: a Baskin and Robbins ice cream store and the Los Gatos Washette.
Diane earned a Bachelor's degree from San Jose State University and a Master's degree in Special Education from Santa Clara University and then embarked on a long and rewarding career with the Santa Clara County Office of Education and Campbell Union School District educating children with special needs. She will be remembered by her former students as competent, caring and keenly focused on their learning. Her commitment to make the world a better and more accepting place for everyone lives on in all of us. We will miss her joie de vivre and constant kindness.
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. on January 26, 2020 at the Mission Santa Clara, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, California, 95053.
In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully suggests a donation be made to organizations committed to helping people with disabilities, Catholic charities, Center for Animal Protection and Education, or the Humane Society of Silicon Valley.
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