Necrology

James Leonard FitzGerald, Jr. '61

Jun. 20, 1939-Feb. 16, 2025

James Leonard FitzGerald, Jr. ’61 died on Feb. 16, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. Born on June 20, 1939, in Albany, N.Y., he came to Hamilton from the Albany Boys Academy and on the Hill was a member of Alpha Delta Phi fraternity while majoring in chemistry and biology. He played intramural hockey, lacrosse, and soccer, and was in the College Choir.

After Hamilton, he went to medical school at the University of Rochester, earning his M.D. on June 6, 1965. On Aug. 14 of that same year, he married Judith A. Collamer at her parents’ home in Hilton, N.Y. They had met during medical school, and at the time of their marriage, she was completing her training as a registered nurse at the University of Pennsylvania. They would have two daughters. 

Jim interned at Albert Einstein Medical Center in New York City after which he became a resident in ophthalmology at the University of Pennsylvania, completing that program in 1967. That same year, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, serving as chief of ophthalmology at the Air Force hospital in Anchorage, Ala., the first stop for many casualties of the Vietnam War returning home. Jim later became the supervising flight surgeon, an assignment he continued in the Air Force Reserve until 1971, when he was honorably discharged with the rank of lieutenant.

Jim, Judith, and their daughters then moved to Williamstown, Mass., where he set up a private practice. Shortly thereafter, he established a second office 14 miles to the north in Bennington, Vt. At some point, the family relocated to the village of Pownal, Vt., equidistant from the two communities. His practice flourished, and he subsequently established Ophthalmic Consultants, Inc., which later became Advanced Eyecare, staffed by a number of practitioners in three offices in Northwestern Massachusetts and Southwestern Vermont. He eventually extended his practice to Troy, N.Y.

In 1993, he earned a law degree from LaSalle College and subsequently became a licensed real estate broker, one who also designed houses. He had first developed an interest in architecture prior to matriculating at Hamilton and before he set his sights on a medical career.

A man of parts, Jim played on the Williams College faculty hockey team, skied cross country, camped, hiked, played tennis, sailed, and kayaked. His residence came with sufficient acreage to enable him to raise animals, chop his own firewood, and tap his own maple trees for sap to produce syrup. He sang in several local choirs and played string bass in several community orchestras. 

He also wrote weekly columns for the local newspaper, a number of which were subsequently anthologized in a collection, Reflections from the Eye Sage, published locally in 2008, one of three books he completed. A bibliophile, he developed a large personal library by searching local secondhand bookstores for rare titles.

His first marriage having ended, he married Catherine Beck Fairbanks, a surgical nurse, on March 29, 2011. Shortly after his retirement, he and Catherine left New England for Sun Valley, Ariz., where he took up pickleball, sculpting, and painting, while continuing to sing in a choir and play bass in a traveling band. He also became an adjunct faculty member at the University of Arizona Medical School, teaching surgical procedures. 

When he moved, Jim left behind many grateful former patients, one of whom later eulogized him as “definitely one of a kind, a great humanitarian, and an all-around good person. The world was a better place because of his kindness to all who came to him for their expert eyecare. A very caring and knowledgeable doctor.” 

In 2024, he and Catherine moved to Nashville, Tenn., to live with his daughter Margaret as his health deteriorated. 

In his 50th class reunion yearbook, Jim honored three Hamilton faculty members: “My gratitude for the skill and patience of Austin Briggs and Jascha Kessler is immense.” Additionally, in reflecting upon his many years in one choir or another, he recalled the importance of his time in the College Choir, noting that “it’s impossible to overlook the great gifts John Baldwin gave us all.” 

Jim supported Hamilton through regular donations to the Hamilton Fund as well as to the bicentennial capital campaign.

James L. FitzGerald, Jr. is survived by his wife, two daughters, and two grandchildren.

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