Virginia Fitzgerald of Milford, Delaware departed from this world at Beebe Hospital in Lewes, Delaware on August 26th, 2015 at the age of 74 years, 11 months and 2 days old. Her unexpected death came after a surgical procedure.
She was born in Charlottesville, VA on September 24, 1940, the oldest of seven children born to Magnus and Mary (Martin) Fitzgerald. Virginia graduated in 1959 from Albemarle High School in Albemarle County, Virginia and worked briefly at the University of Virginia prior to her first marriage. She attended a secretarial school for one year and also completed her freshman year of college at Eastern Mennonite College in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
After her first marriage, she briefly lived in El Dorado, Arkansas and then settled into Greenwood, Delaware, where she spent most of her adult life. Virginia was a homemaker while her children were in elementary school and lovingly cared for her mother for several years, who died as a result of complications of Alzheimer’s disease.
She was a proud employee at ILC, Dover, where she first worked in the late 1960s during the moon landing and then again from the mid-1980s until 1993. Virginia continued working until the early 2000s, when she was forced to retire due to a work injury.
Virginia raised Seal point Siamese kittens for many years, and was a long-time collector of Siamese cat figurines. In additional, she was an avid reader and passed along that love of reading to her children. She also spent many hours watching and learning from her favorite television channel, PBS.
Virginia lived briefly in Bristol, Vermont from mid-2013 until June 2014, when she returned to Delaware. While in Vermont, she enjoyed walks around the village, living in the mountains again, and spending time with her two oldest children, daughter-in-law, and especially her first grandchild. She enjoyed a gorgeous autumn in Vermont in 2013; autumn was her favorite season. She returned to Delaware in July 2014, where she lived until her death.
She is survived by her two sons and two daughters-in-law, Curtis (45) and Kristin Swartzentruber of New Haven, Vermont and Calvin (41) and Michelle Swartzentruber of Mount Prospect, Illinois, and Clarice Evans (42) of Oakland Park, Florida. She also leaves two young grandsons, Ezra and Zeke Swartzentruber of New Haven, Vermont and her friend and ex-son-in-law, Walter C. Evans, Jr. of Brunswick, Georgia.
In addition, she leaves behind two surviving brothers -- Tommie Fitzgerald of Pollocksville, North Carolina and Jackie Fitzgerald of Harrington, Delaware -- and one surviving sister, Shelby Schlabach of Greenwood, Delaware. She was preceded in death by her parents; two brothers, Roy (who died as an infant) and Ronnie Fitzgerald; one sister, Caroline Barbee; and her beloved niece Stacey Schlabach Justice. She is survived by many nieces and nephews and great-nieces and nephews.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to an animal charity such as the Humane Society or ASPCA or that a gift be given to your local PBS station.