TERRENCE GREGORY (TERRY) FITZSIMMONS
Terrence Gregory (Terry) Fitzsimmons, 91 years old, died in Albuquerque, NM on November 24, 2021, after recent injuries, surgery, and decline.
Born on September 8, 1930 in The Bronx, NYC; he was the youngest of nine children of Terence Fitzsimmons and Bridget Rose (Clarke) Fitzsimmons, who emigrated from Virginia, County Cavan, Ireland in 1929.
The Fitzsimmons family initially settled on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Tuberculosis struck, and then the fatherless family moved to Jamaica, the Queens borough of NYC, during World War II. Even so, Terry commuted to Manhattan daily during the school year until he graduated from Power Memorial Academy in 1949. He joined the US Army in 1951 and served in Korea, where he was fortunate enough to meet entertainer Debbie Reynolds on one of her USO tours during the war.
On his return home, he later attended City College of NY and soon began a career as a life insurance seller. However, in 1976 he was unhappy in New York when he and Babuska, his dog and spiritual advisor, decided to leave the apartment where he had lived for more than 30 years and move to California. There Terry became a real estate agent, first in Los Angeles before settling in San Diego.
In San Diego he was able to make some dramatic changes. He joined Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Overeaters Anonymous (OA). Terry devoted the rest of his life to sharing his personal achievements by becoming an inspiration, mentor, and sponsor to others without imposing his way of life on anyone.
In 1992 he retired and settled in Santa Fe, NM, where he thrived and made many close friends. Terry has served in several organizations including AA, OA, AARP, the board of directors of the Santa Fe Recovery Center, and manager of the Friendship Club of Santa Fe.
After Terry got sober, lost his excess weight, and got in shape, he realized that he had always referred to himself as “Terry Screwed”. He started calling himself “Terry Blessed”. Many in Santa Fe only knew him by that name.
Physical fitness and financial acumen enabled him to travel extensively and made several trips to Ireland, Machu Picchu, Peru and the New Orleans Jazz Festivals. Complete strangers became new friends for this open-minded gentleman everywhere. He was a short man, only of stature, who lived tall and encouraged others to do the same.
He often paraphrased Meister Eckhart as saying, “If the only prayer you ever say is thank you, that’s enough.”
Mr. Fitzsimmons was closely related to his large extended family, which includes many cousins in Ireland. Uncle Terry has been kind, supportive, and influential to numerous nieces and nephews. His parents preceded him in death, as did all of his siblings: Rose (RoseAnn) Tinnelly, Kitty (Kathleen) Creeden, Jim (James) Fitzsimmons, Gene (Eugene) Fitzsimmons, Bridie (Bridget) Heslin, Maureen Heintz, Nancy Evers, and Connie (Cornelius) Fitzsimmons, his beloved brother, who died as a child falling through the docks into the Hudson River. He left behind numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.
Internment will take place on January 10, 2022 at 9:45 a.m. in Santa Fe National Cemetery. A memorial service will follow at 11:00 a.m. at the Friendship Club of Santa Fe, 1316 Apache Ave. The arrangements are under the direction of the Rivera Family Funeral Home.
Published by Santa Fe New Mexican from December 9, 2021 to January 9, 2022.
Comments are closed.