I left the Class of 1957 for upstate NY to attend my senior year and work on the oil and gas drilling rigs with my dad. I graduated from Naples High School in 1958. It was there, in upstate NY that I finally found the "love of my life". I married my wife, Rosemary, in 1960. We built a new home in Honeoye, NY, where we lived for 17 years, while I was employed at Eastman Kodak in Rochester, NY, and eventually went into the water well drilling with my brother, Neil Fitzgerald.
Rosemary and I are the parents of four children: Jane, wife of a U.S. Army Colonel, John, a house and canvas painter, Peggy Sue, gifted in music, and David, a sales representative for RV Wholesales. We are also proud grandparents of one dozen grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. One of our grandaughters graduates from Kileen, TX in May, and has received a Presidential Nomination for West Point and will be attending starting in July. Her father is a Col. in the U.S. Army and is on his second tour in Iraq.
We moved to Kenton, Ohio in the summer of 1976, as I assisted my brother, Fred Fitzgerald (Class of 1954) in the oil and gas drilling business and later purchased my own drilling operation. We both hung up our "hard hats" when the rotary rigs become strong competition. I have since mastered the art of cabinet and fine furniture making, and remodeling. One of the bigger projects my youngest son and I took on was the construction of a model/spec home.
My wife and I have always enjoyed traveling, and with our daughter Jane, in her transit Army moves, we have had the chance to travel many places throughout the United States and even out of the states. We were fortunate to spend three weeks in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. However, we have a special love for the western states (particularly Colorado). We are enjoying retirement to the fullest.
Although I did not graduate from Smethport, I have close contact with Terry and Dawn Lord, and have returned often to the area for Class Reunions and the "Top Of the Hill" 4th of July reunion.
Our address is:
My email address is gfitzger@columbus.rr.com
See the rest of the Class of 1957