John Warner Fitzgerald (November 14, 1924–July 7, 2006) was an American lawyer, member of the Michigan Senate, and justice (and later chief justice) of the Michigan Supreme Court.[1][2]
John W. Fitzgerald | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 58th Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court | |
| In office 1982–1982 | |
| Preceded by | Mary S. Coleman |
| Succeeded by | G. Mennen Williams |
| Associate Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court | |
| In office 1973–1982 | |
| Preceded by | Thomas E. Brennan |
| Member of the Michigan Senate from the 15th district | |
| In office January 1, 1959 – December 31, 1964 | |
| Preceded by | Donald E. Smith |
| Succeeded by | Sander Levin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 14, 1924 Grand Ledge, Michigan |
| Died | July 7, 2006 (aged 81) St. Ignace, Michigan |
| Political party | Republican |
| Relations | John Wesley Fitzgerald (grandfather) John W. Fitzgerald (grandson) |
| Children | Frank M. Fitzgerald |
| Parent |
|
| Alma mater | University of Michigan Law School Michigan State University |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Life
editFitzgerald was born in Grand Ledge, Michigan, on November 14, 1924.[1][2][3] He was born to a political family; he was the grandson of John Wesley Fitzgerald, a Michigan state representative from Eaton County (1895–96) and the son of Frank Dwight Fitzgerald, governor of Michigan from 1935 to 1936 and 1939, and Queena Warner Fitzgerald.[1][2]
Fitzgerald graduated from Grand Ledge High School in 1942.[2] Fitzgerald served in the U.S. Army infantry during World War II.[1][2] He received his undergraduate degree from Michigan State University in 1947 and his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School in 1954.[1][2][3] He also studied at Princeton University and the University of Arizona.[2]
Fitzgerald was the legal counsel for the Michigan State Senate from 1955 until 1958.[2] In 1958, Fitzgerald was elected to the Michigan State Senate, where he served until 1962.[1][2][3]
Fitzgerald practiced in the law firm of Fitzgerald & Wirbel until he was elected to the Michigan Court of Appeals in 1964.[1][2][3] Governor William Milliken appointed Fitzgerald to a one-year term on the Michigan Supreme Court in 1973.[1][2] Fitzgerald took his seat on January 1, 1974.[2] Fitzgerald was subsequently elected to a full eight-year term, and in his final year on the bench, in 1982, he was elected chief justice.[1]
Fitzgerald was a member of the original board of directors of Thomas M. Cooley Law School, and also taught as an adjunct, teaching the first property-law class there in 1983.[1][2] He later resigned from the board to become a full-time professor of law there.[1][2]
Fitzgerald died on July 7, 2006, at Mackinac Straits Hospital in St. Ignace, after a long illness, at age 81.[1] The Fitzgerald family has had a cottage on the Mackinac Island's East Bluff since 1961.[1]
Fitzgerald was a member of the First Congregational, United Church of Christ of Grand Ledge and the Little Stone Church, Union Congregational on Mackinac Island.[1] He was also a member of the Mackinac Island Yacht Club and a charter member of Mackinac Associates.[1]
Fitzgerald's papers are archived at the Bentley Historical Library of the University of Michigan.[3]
Notes
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Obituary: John Fitzgerald Archived 2015-04-17 at the Wayback Machine, Mackinac Island Town Crier (July 15, 2006).
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n John Fitzgerald, Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society.
- ^ a b c d e Fitzgerald, John Warner. "John Warner Fitzgerald papers". Bentley Historical Library. University of Michigan. Retrieved 2023-01-08.
External links
edit- Transcript of the Presentation of the Portrait of the Honorable John W. Fitzgerald at the Michigan Supreme Court, November 10, 1994