Obituary of Michael Timothy Fitzgerald

Michael Timothy Fitzgerald died peacefully at his home in Boulder Creek with family on 2/12/2012. He was only 52 years old and a 4th generation native of San Mateo, California. He died of ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) 7 years after being diagnosed. Born on 4/16/1959 to Gerald and Barbara Fitzgerald, he was raised in San Mateo and La Honda. He attended Pescadero High School, Humboldt State University, and received his BS in Geography from San Francisco State. Mike was married to Cynthia Jordan Fitzgerald for 22 years and leaves her behind with their daughter, Catherine (Cassie) Rose Fitzgerald. He is survived by his parents, his brother Joe Fitzgerald (Marina) and nephew Casey Fitzgerald, as well as his grandmother Carol Hardgrove Gilbert, aunts Sally Toft (Richard) and Ann McGlenon (Art), uncle Steven Hardgrove (Barbara) and many cousins. Michael worked as an electrician through IBEW 617 for 7 years, and was a member for 26 years. After a back injury he returned to college and worked his way into a position as a Remote Sensing Data Analyst for NASA for 20 years, where he traveled world- wide on deployments. In addition to his family and home, his passion was sailing, and he participated in many types of racing, including the Pacific Cup from San Francisco to Kauai. He also earned his Captain's license and taught sailing. He coached girls' soccer for his daughter's teams. He was stricken with ALS in 2005 but continued to be an active participant in his family and social life and church and job and the ALS Association as best he could. He was baptized at Santa Cruz Bible Church shortly after his diagnosis and is now a member of Twin Lakes Church. His motto was Faith Not Fear. Services will be held on Saturday February 25th at 11:00 am at Twin Lakes Church, 2701 Cabrillo College Drive, Aptos CA 95003. If you would like to light a candle and share your condolences with Michael's family please visit www.pacificgardenschapel.com In lieu of flowers contributions in Michael's name may be made to: Hospice of Santa Cruz County 940 Disc Drive Scotts Valley, CA 95006 www.hospicesantacruz.org OR ALS Association 1 Embarcadero Center Suite 1530 San Francisco, CA 94111 www.alsa.org