Adjutor I Fitzpatrick

Adjutor Isador Fitzpatrick, 95 of Sweet Grass, passed away peacefully Sunday, December 15, 2013 at his home with his family at his bedside.  Visitation will be from 4:00-6:00 pm Thursday, December 19, at St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church.  A vigil/rosary service will begin at 6:00 pm that evening.  Funeral mass is set for 2:00 pm on Friday, December 20, at St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church with burial to follow in the Sunburst Cemetery.

He was born to John E and Lydia (Begin) Fitzpatrick May 2, 1918 at Demers, Montana, southwest of Sweet Grass.  The youngest of eight children he grew up on the Fitz Ranch and went to elementary school at the Fitz school.  He went to Lethbridge School of Music and there learned to play guitar.

Adjutor joined Uncle Sam’s Army Air Corps in 1942, serving his country until his honorable discharge in 1945.  Returning home from the war he joined his older brothers Johnny and Cyril in the farming/ranching business west of Sweet Grass on the Dry Creek Ranch.  He soon bought the Dex Garrish place, known as Hy Chaparral.  He loved farming and his John Deere tractor and all equipment and tools.  Having his picture taken for John Deere, he stood proud – He was a Farmer.

In 1980, Adj married Christina Baldwin, Bill Baldwin’s widow, mother of George, Buddy, Bert, Faye and Sharon.  Chris had lived down the road east of Hy Chaparral and they moved up the hill to the Hy Chaparral.  With this family instantly he became Dad and Grampa.  And a much loved one he was.  They adored him for loving and caring for their mother and sharing family.    Chris and Adj enjoyed family reunions, military reunions, family visiting, country shows, rodeos, brandings, dancing, and family and friends.  Many card games and big meals are remembered by all.  Many times he and Chris, brother Ed and wife Myrtle, sister Mary and brother-in-law Lloyd would be seen out dancing.

In 1994 he lost his Chris to the angels leaving him alone.  They had spent 14 years of loving each other.  He then married his brother Edward’s widow, Myrtle, on January 4, 2001.  They had once danced as couples and now, no more alone, they would know no more lonely days and nights.

Dancing days over, they made many memories with extended family gatherings.  Many days of playing cards, side by side, holding hands and loving each other, making many more memories.  Adj and Myrt had known one another for over seventy years and made memories as brother-in-law and sister-in-law, and now thirteen years as husband and wife.

Adj was the oldest member of the Sweet Grass Legion Post #73 and very proud of it.  He spent many happy hours in the kitchen cooking the Wild Game Stew enjoying his comrades especially brother Cyril.  Adj, very loyal to his Post, was Commander, Bingo caller and worker many years until his retirement.  A 68 year Post member, the last surviving World War II veteran for the Post, well respected by his comrades in arms, he was referred to for the Post’s history.

He will greatly missed by all of his Fitz-Baldwin family.  We all loved and respected him.  He was a ‘good man’ with a big heart.  Adj will be remembered for his love of family and of his special friend, his dog Hero.  Hero is missing his buddy.

Adj was preceded in death by his parents; his three brothers and four sisters; his nephew/son Larry and wife Judy Fitzpatrick; niece Peaches Adams; and great-nephew Jace Fitzpatrick.  Survivors include his beloved wife; nephew/sons Dennis (Karla) of Browning and Jim (Phyllis) of Dupuyer; niece/daughter Elaine (Tracy) Butala of Helena; seventeen grandchildren, twenty-four great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild on the way.  He is also survived by step- sons George (Tita) Baldwin of Kalispell, Buddy (Leslie) Baldwin of Bigfork, and Bert (Janice) Baldwin of Sunburst; step-daughters Sharon (Ron) Palmer of Kalispell and Faye (Clarence) Hart of Sweet Grass; sixteen step-grandchildren, thirteen step-great-grandchildren, and two step-great-grandchildren.  His loving nieces and nephews of the Fitz, the Callan, the Wadsworth, the Gilson, and Fitzpatrick families also survive Adj.

He was a special guy and easy to love – That sums it all up.