Elizabeth A. Fitzgerald

Elizabeth (Betty) Fitzgerald, 88, of Highland, Indiana passed away peacefully on the morning of August 11, 2024, with a rosary in her hands.

Betty was born in Hammond on February 5, 1936, to Louis Takacs and Helen Danko into a large Hungarian-American family. She was predeceased by sisters Helen Berkes and Laura Czlonka and brother Louis Takacs and survived by sisters Marie Skrentny and Valerie Holicky. 

Betty married Jerry Fitzgerald in 1957 and celebrated 54 years together when Jerry died in 2011. She is survived by their four children: Mark Fitzgerald, Lisa Marsh, Kathleen (James) Belford, and Karen (Joel) Cohn; six grandchildren: Michelle Belford, Eric (Sophia) Belford, Melissa (Justin) Davis, and Nicholas, Emily, and Rachel Cohn; and three great grandchildren: Wyatt and Kayleigh Davis, and Adalina Belford

She attended Hammond High School followed by nursing school at Little Company of Mary Hospital in Evergreen Park, Ill, where she graduated as a registered nurse.

After raising her family, Betty returned to nursing and worked at St. Catherine’s Hospital for close to 35 years. First in the maternity ward then for many years in the surgical department. A life-long resident of the Calumet Region, she recognized by name and cared for multiple generations of people she knew from church, her children’s friends and families, and Jerry’s work friends.  

Her great grandchildren adored their Gi-Gi and were excited every time she visited. Gi-Gi’s purse always held all kinds of treats and treasures, and the kids are still at that cute stage where they delighted in anything she had for them.

Betty was a faithful Catholic and attended daily Mass as often as she could. While her children attended Our Lady of Perpetual School in Hammond, Betty volunteered as a school nurse and administered vaccines to the students, was a member of the PTA and served as playground monitor.  At Our Lady of Grace, she and her sister Marie were deemed the “dream team” for their speed and efficiency at counting the envelopes and contributions after Sunday Masses.

Visitation will be Saturday, September 21 from 10-11 am at Our Lady of Grace Church, 3025 Highway, Highland, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 11. Internment, at a later date, will be private.

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