Margaret Frances Corca-Fitzgerald

Margaret Frances Corca-Fitzgerald, 96, passed from this life peacefully on Saturday, September 26, 2009 surrounded by her family. She was of the Roman-Catholic faith. Margaret was born June 7, 1913 in the old city of New Orleans to Joseph and Edna Corca. Her paternal grandparents immigrated from Sicily, Italy to New Orleans at the turn of the twentieth century. Margaret moved with her mother and two sisters to Point Cadet as a young girl. Her early years there were hard, helping her mother pick shrimp at Weem's factory while standing on a box crate. While just a teenager, she took the road to Port Bolivar, Texas but eventually returned to our Biloxi shore. A great cook who worked at Henrietta's Café' in Ocean Springs for 20 years, she generously shared her fix'ins with many locals. She was a friend to many and unselfishly gave to help others. She has often been described as "fiesty" and "stubborn", but for those who knew her, she was just a seasoned woman with a zest for life, still childlike and curious. Oh, to have walked in your shoes and have seen through your eyes! What a life journey it has been. We will miss you, Moma. She is preceded in death by her husband, James N. Fitzgerald; sisters, Ester Blume, and Grace Rogers; granddaughter, Tammy Seymour; and great-granddaughter, Missy Shoemaker. She is survived by her two sons, Edval (Jane) Hughes, and Kenneth (Betty Jean) Hughes; three daughters, Margaret "Tootsie" (Tony) Martino, Brenda Viator both of Biloxi, and Beverly Hough of Nederland, Texas. Her grandchildren are Mike, Raye Marie, Bubba, Jayne, Kenny, Dow, Damian, Candi, Rusty, Jodee, David, Gina, Ferris, Jamie, and George. She has thirty great-grandchildren, four great-great grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews. A memorial mass to celebrate her life will be held Friday, October 2, 2009 at 10:00 am at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church where friends may visit one hour before service time. A graveside service will follow at 12:00 pm in D'Iberville Memorial Park. The family would like to thank Dr. Paul Matherne for his unfailing care and compassion. Bradford-O'Keefe Funeral Home, Biloxi is in charge of arrangements. View and sign register book at www.bradfordokeefe.com