Shirley P. Fitzpatrick

Shirley Lila Prath Fitzpatrick, a resident of Fairfield for more than 60 years, died peacefully Friday, March 13, 2015. She was born in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania in 1930, and graduated from Drexel University in 1951. After working as a buyer for several national department stores, she married Jack Fitzpatrick, a Fairfield lawyer and probate judge, in 1954. She spent the next 20 years raising a family and volunteering for local service organizations and charities. She returned to work at Sikorsky in 1978, and worked there until her retirement in 1999. She was passionate about skiing, reading, symphonic music and the opera, crossword puzzles, and bridge. During her husband's professional and political career, she was a constant companion and enthusiastic supporter. An accomplished hostess and gourmet cook, and traveled extensively to France, Ireland, Italy, China, Greece, Austria, Alaska and the Caribbean. She is survived by three sons and a daughter: John Fitzpatrick and his wife Katherine of Simsbury, David Fitzpatrick and his wife Missy Godfrey of New Canaan, Keven Fitzpatrick and his wife Judith of Brownsville, VT, and Kathleen Fitzpatrick and her husband William Lantry of Colesville, MD. Survivors also include twelve grandchildren: Erin, Shannon, John, Kristen, Jack, Elizabeth, Thomas, Joseph, Julian, Baird, Daniel and James. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Thursday March 19, 2015 at 10:00 A.M. meeting directly at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, 1719 Post Road, Fairfield. Interment will follow in Oak Lawn Cemetery. Friends may call Wednesday from 4 to 8 P.M. in the Spear-Miller Funeral Home, 39 South Benson Rd, Fairfield. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey, 8400 Abbey Hill Lane, Dubuque, Iowa, 52003. Http://www.mississippiabbey.org. For information or to sign anonline guest register please visit www.SpearMillerFuneralHome.com