Denise Victoria Fitzgerald

Our bright-blue eyed mother, Denise Victoria Fitzgerald, was born on November 25, 1923 to Frances Marx Donohoe and Denis Donohoe III in South Bend, Indiana. She spent her early years in Flint, Michigan, with her loving and attentive mother and her older sister, Peggy (Frances Comins).

As a child, she spent many Michigan summers with the Wheater family on Crystal Lake where her family later built a cabin. The memory of those special summers with family and friends on Crystal Lake stayed with her throughout her life.

At 19 years of age she joined the Navy as a Wave and worked as a dental assistant during WWII.

Curiosity then moved her to California where she continued her education. She received her B.A. degree in special education from San Francisco State College and taught at the Berkeley School for the Deaf and Blind.

Denise married Paul J. Fitzgerald of San Francisco in 1951. Together they settled in Concord and raised their family of six children. While raising her family and into her later years, Denise was a very creative woman who found joy in beautifying the family home. Rewiring walls for electrical convenience, building and restoring furniture, designing and building miniature homes, it all came so easy to her and brought great pride.

In her mid 50's when the last of her children left home, Denise reentered the work force. She was hired on-the-spot by Brown and Caldwell Engineering and remained for ten years. At work and through her hobbies, she built and nurtured close friendships that carried through to present day.

As a wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, friend, neighbor and animal lover she provided unconditional love, patience and whimsical humor. She will be forever loved and missed.

A Memorial Mass will be held at noon on Monday, December 21, 2015, at Queen of All Saints Church in Concord followed by a gathering at her home to celebrate her life.