Please join us to celebrate the life of THOMAS JOHN FITZPATRICK
Sunday, September 27, 2020 4:00 PM Eastern | 3:00 PM Central |1:00 PM Pacific
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Obituary:
Former White Bear Lake school teacher Thomas John Fitzpatrick, age 89, passed on Saturday, August 29, 2020, at St. Joseph’s Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota due to complications from a heart attack.
Tom is survived by Maureen (Rena) Joan Fitzpatrick (nee: Kimball), his wife of 68 years; six children, Margaret Mary "Peggy" (Steve Bauman), Mark Thomas (Kyoko Okuda), Colleen Marie (Rick Levien), Shannon Mae (Bernie Harlow), Kevin Michael (Pamela) and Patricia Rose (Doug McKinnon); 17 grandchildren; 7 great-children; sister Catherine Ann (Fitzpatrick) Simpkins, brother Michael Alan (Susan); and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and other relatives and friends. He is preceded by his parents Thomas James and Isabelle, and his sister Patricia.
Tom was born and grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota, the son of an Irish-American postal worker and a Dutch immigrant.Having served in the Naval Reserves, he attended St. Thomas College on the G.I bill, earning both his bachelor of arts and master of arts degrees as the father of a rapidly growing family.His first professional job was as a teacher of Spanish and English in Cambridge, Minnesota. In 1961, he transferred to the White Bear Lake School District, teaching those two subjects in Junior and Senior High Schools for over three decades.Along the way, he improved his Spanish through study in Mexico, including via a memorable year when he and Rena brought their six children to San Miguel de Allende and Guadalajara.
Tom was a devoted family man who worked a number of summer and evening jobs to supplement his teacher’s salary. He built two homes of his own, and later worked in real estate, producing a 20-unit townhouse development next to his house on Elm Street, White Bear Lake. He grew cucumbers, corn and pumpkins as cash crops that his children sold in lieu of allowance. He taught his progeny to support the underdog and he led by example, at age 34 becoming the first president of the White Bear Lake Area Human Relations Council. He was known for his dry sense of humor and generosity, including his fondness for distributing $2 bills. He was a poet, a beekeeper, a lover of vehicles, and a strong believer in democracy and rights for all.
Those wishing to honor Thomas John Fitzpatrick with a donation are encouraged to contribute to a progressive charity of their choice or to the White Bear Lake Area Educational Foundation.
(For more about Tom's life, click on the Stories tab, and please leave tributes below.)