Friend and former assistant Anne Zakas '76 remembers Father
Mark J. Fitzgerald, CCS, '28, who died September 3, 2002.
The scholarly, humorous, nature-loving, sociable and ever-seeking
justice Father Mark Fitzgerald lived for 96 years. He not only
witnessed the passage of those years, he lived them vigorously.
For example, in the past year, he studied again the encyclical
On Human Work, compiling 10 pages of key points, carefully
cited. In his last six months, he refreshed his memorization of
selected short speeches from Hamlet, the Merchant
of Venice and Richard III, in order to entertain
a fellow resident of Holy Cross House who had taught drama for
many years. This past summer he forwarded materials in support
of worker and human rights to the members of the Notre Dame Anti-Sweatshop
Task Force, a practice he had sustained since the committee's
inception. In the last weeks of his life, while reading a book
on world hunger, he exhorted a colleague, "One fifth of the world's
population is being sacrificed for the benefit of the few. Not
the many, the few."
In the fall of 1992, shortly after I came to work for Father
and in familiarizing myself with the office, I found a draft of
his letter of resignation -- torn in half. Though he had been
experiencing health concerns, he made a decision to continue his
efforts at furthering cooperation between area unions and their
employers. As the chairman of the annual Union-Management Conference,
as it came to be called later, Father held the first conference
in February1953. Except for three rough economic years in the
1970s, these conferences were held annually through 2000.
The conferences sprang from Father's role as teacher and his
work as an arbitrator. The first one promised "to do about two
days' work in one" and featured informative sessions on arbitration
as well as a demonstration of the actual process. Early during
that first conference, Father read a couple of congratulatory
telegrams in regard to the event and then quipped:
"It may be of interest to know that you are attending a conference
which outgrew three assembly halls before it was ever convened.
First it was thought that this Labor Arbitration Conference might
be held from start to finish in the Morris Inn. Then we moved
it to the Law Auditorium, then to the Engineering Building, and
finally Washington Hall. Our last resort was not used, however
-- the stadium."
Over the years the conference speakers were chosen with utmost
care to talk on the most pertinent issues; Father continued to
instruct and educate through these sessions. Before attempting
to put together a slate of speakers, he would reflect on the many
books and articles he had recently read and come up with the most
timely topics for discussion. Though long retired, Father was
drawn upon by professors of economics as a valuable repository
of current research on a wide variety of subjects.
He strongly believed in keeping his mind and body active. One
impressive feat which he carried off year after year was the introduction
of 40 or so people, complete with names, titles, companies or
unions, and cities of origin, for the dinner the night before
his conference. In the weeks before that event he would spend
precious time committing all of these facts to memory, in order
to be a more gracious host.
Father Fitzgerald loved visiting with friends and was a faithful
correspondent. Each Christmas he personally wrote salutations
on a hundred or more cards to friends, colleagues, family and
acquaintances he'd met during his work and travels to Europe and
in this country. For a number of years he traveled to Montana
for week of horseback riding and camping, his "wilderness trip."
Once again, he leaves behind evidence of his spirit and humor
in a letter written to his wilderness trip outfitter:
"Now that spring is here it is a great joy to be spending forty
minutes every morning . . . jogging around our two lakes [he was
almost 87 when writing this] with the sunrise in the distance
and the Canada geese honking on the waters. It is much more enjoyable
than doing the same route in winter in the darkness with snow
underfoot."
Speaking of his reservation for that summer's trip, he requests:
"As usual I wish to have a tent by myself and look forward to
a saddle that belongs to my horse. I noticed a difference last
year and I think the horse did, too."
He was a gifted photographer and naturalist, so these were especially
enjoyable vacations for him. However, he took no vacation from
his priestly duties, saying Sunday Mass for the group's Catholics
at an open-ir altar. When his annual horseback/camping trip in
the Montana wilderness became too difficult in the mid-1990s,
he set out on the first of many Elderhostel trips, primarily in
Arizona and Montana. He enjoyed the instructive talks and side
trips but most of all the long conversations over meals, where
he met so many interesting and active older folks like himself
with so much to share.
With his passing on September 3rd, many lives have been diminished.
But we should recall Father Fitzgerald's passion for life and
his many professional and personal accomplishments because they
represent the rich heritage of Notre Dame -- Catholic, intelligent,
dedicated, hard-working and compassionate.
