John Hill Fitzgerald III of Zebulon, Ga. died Monday, January 14, 2013 at Southern Regional Hospital in Riverdale, Ga. following surgical complications. He was the son of the late Dr. and Mrs. J. H. Fitzgerald Jr. of Lincolnton. Johnny was a member of the Lincolnton High School graduating class of 1960.
He attended Davidson College, Florida Presbyterian College and received a Bachelor of Arts from Clayton State University in Morrow, Ga.
Johnny was preceded in death by his wife, Carolyn Zander Fitzgerald and is survived by five daughters, two sons and 15 grandchildren.
Upon receiving his commercial pilot’s license, Johnny became a pilot for Eastern Airlines where he rose to captain of a Boeing 757. Johnny’s name is included on the Eastern Airline’s bronze memorial in Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. This memorial includes a representation of over 6,700 pilots who flew for Eastern Airlines from 1928 until the company’s dissolution.
When Eastern folded, Johnny attended a police academy in Clayton County, Ga. and served on police forces in Peachtree City, Palmetto & Fairburn, Ga.
Johnny spent his life in service to his fellow man. He was engaged to Barbara Johnson Carter, also formally of Lincolnton.