John Warner Fitzgerald (November 14, 1924–July 7, 2006) was an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

, member of the

Michigan Senate The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. Along with the Michigan House of Representatives, it composes the state legislature, which has powers, roles and duties defined by Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ado ...

, and justice (and later chief justice) of the Michigan Supreme Court.Obituary: John Fitzgerald
, ''Mackinac Island Town Crier'' (July 15, 2006).John Fitzgerald
Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society.

Life

Fitzgerald was born in

Grand Ledge, Michigan Grand Ledge is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city lies mostly within Eaton County, though a small portion extends into Clinton County to the north. The city sits above the Grand River 12.7 miles (20.4 kilometers) west of downtown Lan ...

, on November 14, 1924. He was born to a

political family A political family (also referred to as political dynasty) is a family in which multiple members are involved in politics — particularly electoral politics. Members may be related by blood or marriage; often several generations or multiple sibli ...

; he was the grandson of

John Wesley Fitzgerald John Wesley Fitzgerald (October 22, 1850 – February 3, 1908) was an American businessman and politician. Biography Born in Montpelier, Vermont, he lived in Lyons, New York after his parents died. He went to Sodus Academy in Sodus, New Yor ...

, a Michigan state representative from

Eaton County Eaton County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 109,175. The county seat is Charlotte. The county was organized in 1837 and was named for John Eaton, who was Secretary of War under ...

(1895–96) and the son of

Frank Dwight Fitzgerald Frank Dwight Fitzgerald (January 27, 1885 – March 16, 1939) was an American politician. He was elected as the 34th and 36th Governor of Michigan and was the only Michigan governor to die in office. Early life Fitzgerald was born in Grand L ...

governor of Michigan The governor of Michigan is the head of state, head of government, and chief executive of the U.S. state of Michigan. The current governor is Gretchen Whitmer, a member of the Democratic Party, who was inaugurated on January 1, 2019, as the stat ...

from 1935–1936 and 1939, and Queena Warner Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald graduated from Grand Ledge High School in 1942. Fitzgerald served in the U.S. Army infantry during World War II. He received his undergraduate degree from

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

in 1947 and his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School in 1954. He also studied at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

and the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

. Fitzgerald was the legal counsel for the Michigan State Senate from 1955 until 1958. In 1958, Fitzgerald was elected to the Michigan State Senate, where he served until 1962. Fitzgerald practiced in the

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to r ...

of Fitzgerald & Wirbel until he was elected to the Michigan Court of Appeals in 1964. Governor

William Milliken William Grawn Milliken (March 26, 1922 – October 18, 2019) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 44th governor of Michigan. A member of the Republican Party, he is the longest-serving governor in Michigan history, serv ...

appointed Fitzgerald to a one-year term on the Michigan Supreme Court in 1973. Fitzgerald took his seat on January 1, 1974. Fitzgerald was subsequently was elected to a full eight-year term, and in his final year on the bench, in 1982, he was elected chief justice. Fitzgerald was a member of the original board of directors of

Thomas M. Cooley Law School Western Michigan University Cooley Law School ("Cooley") is a private law school in Lansing, Michigan and Riverview, Florida. It was established in 1972. At its peak in 2010, Cooley had over 3,900 students and was the largest US law school by en ...

, and also taught as an adjunct, teaching the first property-law class there in 1983. He later resigned from the board to become a full-time professor of law there. Fitzgerald died on July 7, 2006, at Mackinac Straits Hospital in St. Ignace, after a long illness, at age 81. The Fitzgerald family has had a cottage on the

Mackinac Island Mackinac Island ( ; french: Île Mackinac; oj, Mishimikinaak ᒥᔑᒥᑭᓈᒃ; otw, Michilimackinac) is an island and resort area, covering in land area, in the U.S. state of Michigan. The name of the island in Odawa is Michilimackinac an ...

's East Bluff since 1961. Fitzgerald was a member of the First Congregational, United Church of Christ of Grand Ledge and the Little Stone Church, Union Congregational on Mackinac Island. He was also a member of the Mackinac Island Yacht Club and a charter member of Mackinac Associates. Fitzgerald's papers are archived at the

Bentley Historical Library The Bentley Historical Library is the campus archive for the University of Michigan and is located on the University of Michigan's North Campus in Ann Arbor. It was established in 1935 by the regents of the University of Michigan. Its mission is ...

of the University of Michigan.

Notes

External links

Transcript of the Presentation of the Portrait of the Honorable John W. Fitzgerald
at the Michigan Supreme Court, November 10, 1994 {{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzgerald, John Warner 1924 births 2006 deaths People from Grand Ledge, Michigan Michigan state senators American Congregationalists Michigan State University alumni University of Michigan Law School alumni Chief Justices of the Michigan Supreme Court Michigan Court of Appeals judges Military personnel from Michigan United States Army soldiers United States Army personnel of World War II 20th-century American judges 20th-century American politicians Justices of the Michigan Supreme Court