John A. "Jack" Fitzgerald

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On behalf of the Badger Honor Flight Board and all our volunteers, we extend our deepest condolences to you all, the family of John Fitzgerald. We are forever grateful for his service to our great country. What an honor it was for us to take him on his well-deserved trip of a lifetime. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all.

Jack was a very special man, who lived his life to the fullest extent possible. I had the honor of performing the echo to his Taps at a funeral in Dec 2018 for Roger Boeker. I also got to perform cheerful bugle calls with him at some of the early Badger Honor Flight send-offs. I’m so happy I got to meet him, he was always so full of life. My prayers to his family for peace. Good work, faithful servant.

One of the most memorable times in my life was UWMC Swing Choir from 1971-1973 with "Fitz." He let me in, even though I much later realized I can't read music. I just knew to be next to the best alto and it all worked. I remember learning about a "Chinese fire drill" at 6am in the middle of a small town with one stoplight on the way to a Swing Choir performance in Park Falls. And I now recall playing raquetball with him (boy, that was a long-buried memory). I've thought of him fondly over the years. I've been in Madison since 1973 and wish I'd known how close he was and like to think maybe we crossed paths again without knowing. I hope there's comfort in knowing how very many lives he touched with his effervescent personality over the years.

I only know your husband, father and family through his obituary. It is my fervent wish that I could have known him. He sounds so much like my own Dad. You are truly blessed to have had him in your lives. God continue to bless you all.