Joseph P. Fitzgerald, who grew up in Revere and spent several years as a library assistant at the Boston Public Library, died Friday, October 9, at Vantage Healthcare and Rehabilitation in Wakefield after a long illness. He was 75.
Joe was one of five children of the late Desmond J. Fitzgerald and Catherine H. “Kitty” (Dineen) Fitzgerald, and went through Revere’s schools, graduating from Revere High School in 1969. His family wrote that he never stopped reading. Books drew him to the library job, and when his health forced him to stop working, they stayed with him.
He leaves his brother Mark R. Fitzgerald and Mark’s wife, Lydia, of Quincy; his sister Marianne Lally and her companion, James, of Revere; his sister Kathleen McLeod and her husband, George, of Salem, New Hampshire; his nieces and nephews Joseph, Justin, Kattie and Jenny; and many cousins. His brother Michael J. Fitzgerald died before him.
A graveside service is Thursday, October 22, at 1 p.m. at Woodlawn Cemetery, 302 Elm Street, Everett. Mourners are asked to meet at the main gate at 12:45 p.m. The family asks that remembrances go to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Massachusetts, 133 Federal Street, 2nd Floor, Boston, MA 02110.
Compiled from information published by Vertuccio Smith & Vazza Beechwood Home for Funerals, 262 Beach Street, Revere. Photograph courtesy of the family via Vertuccio Smith & Vazza. This is our own summary, not the family’s obituary; read the full obituary and leave a condolence at the funeral home’s page on Legacy.com. Corrections: we will fix any error promptly.