Martin "Marty" Fitzgerald

Martin (Marty) Francis Fitzgerald, Sr., or “God’s gift to shipbuilding” as he was fond of saying to anyone who had the pleasure of listening to one of his unique voice messages, left this world on June 13, 2010 to begin his next phase of existence. He was 76 years young. If Heaven has ships, Marty is now editing God’s technical report concerning their design. Marty was born March 4, 1934 in Weymouth, Massachusetts, and being a product of the World War II generation, was instilled with the values and work ethic that lead to his dedicating his entire life to shipbuilding. Marty started as a ship fitter’s apprentice, worked his way into drafting and ultimately into engineering and design. It was his loyalty and passion for his chosen profession that resulted in his taking a job with Litton Industries in El Segundo, CA. In 1972, Litton transferred Marty, along with his family, to Ingalls in Pascagoula where he would make the Gulf Coast his home for the rest of his life. He retired from Ingalls after 32 years. The very next day he returned as a consultant for Anteon and then Alion where he continued to work in shipbuilding until the day of his death. Confucius wisely stated that a man who finds work that he loves never works again. Marty must have never worked. In addition to his love and dedication to his working life, Marty was a master of sarcastic wit and had a flair for the theatrical. To say he had a great sense of humor would be an understatement. Anyone who knew Marty will acknowledge that almost any conversation included laughter. His courageous battle with an aggressive cancer in 1983, which he defeated soundly, only made his love of life, his use of sarcasm and his humor sharper. Marty’s flair for the theatrical was expressed through his decades-long association with local theaters such as the Walter Anderson Players, the Biloxi Little Theatre and Bay St. Louis Theatre as an actor and director. The plays he participated in were too numerous to count; his contributions too significant to measure. Marty’s professional, comedic and theatrical acumen were all fed by his eye for art. He doodled, sketched, drew, painted, designed and built. His artistic eye fed his ideas and understanding of ship design and construction. His talent in visualizing how things should look and work was the fountain head of numerous award winning set designs with his beloved theatre. His joy of life and people inspired his myriad paintings and drawings. Marty was preceded in death by his parents, Dennis and Mildred Fitzgerald of Weymouth, MA. He is survived by his wife, Lea Fitzgerald and four step children, Rob, Paul, Stephanie and Amber Sharpe all of Ocean Springs, MS; four children, Martin F. (Maddy) Fitzgerald, Jr., Denise J. Wilkinson, Shannon M. (Phil) Lampe, Christopher E. (Tara) Fitzgerald; eight grandchildren, Jordan, Sommer, Lauren, Sarah, Taylor, Jared, Joshua, and Eric, one step-grandchild, Sadie; and two great grandchildren, Cayden and Livia; brothers Edwin (Eleanor) of Londonderry, NH. and David (Susan) of Mashpee, MA.; sister Dorothy of Brunswick, ME.; numerous nieces, nephews and friends. Visitation will be on Friday, June 18, 2010, from 5 pm until 7 pm, with a 7 pm Chapel Service, all at the Ocean Springs Chapel of Bradford O'Keefe Funeral Home.