Father of former Sen. Fitzgerald dies

Gerald F. Fitzgerald, the father of former U.S. Sen. Peter Fitzgerald, led a life as varied as it was successful, proving an influential innovator in the Illinois banking industry.

The elder Fitzgerald also experienced an adventurous life outside of the board room, from a U.S. Army mine sweeper paving a path for troops pursuing the retreating German army in World War II to a hunter and sportsman in rural Africa, who ultimately donated several buildings to Albert Schweitzer's hospital in Gambon.

The long-retired Fitzgerald, who lived in both Barrington Hills and Naples, Fla., died Saturday at the age of 85, more than a year after suffering a stroke and celebrating his 60th wedding anniversary.

Peter Fitzgerald said his father's career in banking demonstrated a unique combination of creative businessman and conservative lender.

Among the areas in which Gerald Fitzgerald was a pioneer in Illinois banking were his introductions of a multi-bank holding company Suburban Bankcorp Inc.; the first, very primitive ATM in the mid-1960s; and the first interest-earning checking accounts.

At the same time, he was the most conservative of lenders. He believed a bank should lend no more than 50 percent of its assets and that homeowners ought to be able to pay off their mortgages within no more than 10 to 15 years.

And that's why, in the 16 years since his retirement, the industry he once loved so dearly became increasingly unfamiliar to him.

“He thought the banking industry had absolutely become reckless and it was unrecognizable to him,” Peter Fitzgerald said of his father.

After the Great Depression, the next big defining moment in the elder Fitzgerald's life was his service in World War II something he never spoke of until he finally wrote about his experiences in retirement.

His official title was that of a “combat engineer,” but his actual job was to personally sweep for mines with a metal detector in the aftermath of the German retreat in late 1944.

Christmas Day that year always stood out as the scariest time of his life. Not only was the volume of bombs left behind a huge challenge, but he even managed to step on one but escape without it detonating.

“That was the most sheer terror he ever experienced in his life,” the former senator said of his father. “After that experience, there was very little left in life to be afraid of.”

Beginning in the early ‘70s, Gerald Fitzgerald began visiting Africa every other year and became an advocate for its wildlife and people. On one trip, he spent more than three months circumnavigating the entire continent in a small plane.

He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Marjorie; four sons, who ultimately followed him into the banking industry; a daughter, Julie, who teaches at George Mason University; and nine grandchildren.

Fitzgerald also spent time as a NATO consultant in 1976 and was a member of the Illinois Racing Board from 1968 to 1971.

He was an avid reader blessed with a photographic memory, his son said, and served the family as a fount of encyclopedic knowledge long before the Internet.

“As my father always used to say, you only live once, and if do it right, once is enough,” the former senator said.

Visitation for the late Fitzgerald will be held from 2 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Smith-Corcoran Funeral Home, 185 E. Northwest Highway in Palatine.

Funeral services will take place at 10:30 a.m. Nov. 5 at Holy Family Catholic Church at 2515 W. Palatine Road in Inverness.