Dr. Thomas James Fitzgerald

Thomas James Fitzgerald, 81, of Tallahassee, passed away on Friday, June 14, 2019, at his residence from complications due to intestinal ulcers and liver disease. Tom was born in Troy, NY on May 7, 1938 to Mary Guire Fitzgerald and Thomas F. Fitzgerald, along with his three siblings, Mary Sue Sepa, (nee Fitzgerald), Dan and Patricia. Tom was educated in the public schools of Troy and graduated high school from LaSalle Institute in Troy. He obtained the BS in Pharmacy from the Albany College of Pharmacy in 1960 and went on to graduate work at the College of Pharmacy at The Ohio State University where he obtained his Ph.D. degree in 1965. After two years postdoc at the Institute for Experimental Cancer Research in Heidelberg, Germany, and a year at the College of Pharmacy at the University of Minnesota, Tom assumed a position at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City in 1969. In 1973 he became a faculty member at the (then) School of Pharmacy at Florida A&M University. During his tenure there as director of Graduate Programs he oversaw the development of the M.S. and Ph.D. programs in Pharmaceutical Sciences. This was the first Ph.D. degree program at FAMU. It began Fall, 1985. In August 1974 Tom and Jody Eaton were married in Kansas City and drove with her four children, Bill, David, John Eaton and Catherine Oranen (nee Eaton) to Tallahassee, camping out along the way. Tom always found that amazing. In April 2005 Tom retired after 32 years of service at FAMU. During retirement he and Jody found great joy paying attention to their grand children, Victoria and David Eaton. In the summer of 2006 they embarked with the grandkids on a four week road trip to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. In the summer of 2007 they and the grandkids spent five weeks exploring the east coast from Tallahassee to Augusta, Maine and all the big cities in between. In August 2007 then dean of the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Henry Lewis, III, asked Tom to return to the College and serve as Associate Dean of Academics. Tom served in that capacity until retiring in July, 2016.Tom cherished the faculty staff and students at Florida A&M. In retirement Tom and Jody enjoyed travel and engagement with family and friends. Tom was a licensed pharmacist in New York State and Florida from 1963 until 2017. The family will receive friends from 12 o’clock noon until 2:00PM on Saturday, June 22, 2019 at Bevis Funeral Home, 200 John Knox Road. A private interment at Roselawn Cemetery will follow. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Tom’s name to the Florida A&M College of Pharmacy, 1415 S. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Tallahassee, FL 32307. Rocky Bevis and Kelly Barber of Bevis Funeral Home (850-385-2193 or www.bevisfh.com) are assisting the Fitzgerald family with their arrangements.

Tributes

Dr. Thomas James Fitzgerald

May 7, 1938 - June 14, 2019