Sister Margaretha “Greta” Fitzgerald, CHM, died Dec. 17 at MercyOne Genesis Medical Center in Davenport. She was 82.
Margaretha Ann Fitzgerald was born Jan. 26, 1942, in Marshalltown, Iowa, to Patrick Henry and Agnes Marie (Kunkel) Fitzgerald. She entered the Congregation of the Humility of Mary in 1962 and professed vows in 1965 as Sister Mary Isabelle.
Sister Fitzgerald earned an associate’s degree in liberal arts from Ottumwa Heights College in Ottumwa, a BA and MA in elementary education from Marycrest College in Davenport, and an MA in religious studies from the University of St. Thomas in Houston.
Sister Fitzgerald taught in nine Iowa schools over 40 years: St. Joseph- Neola, St. Mary-Oskaloosa, St. Mary-Sigourney, St. Theresa-Des Moines, Christ the King-Des Moines, Lourdes Memorial-Bettendorf, Holy Trinity-Davenport and St. Anthony-Des Moines. After retiring in 2009, she remained at St. Anthony Parish-Des Moines as a companion to the elderly. She moved to Davenport in 2012 to serve five years as CHM vice president.
In 2017, Sister Fitzgerald began serving in a ministry of prayer and witness at Humility of Mary Center in Davenport. She volunteered at River Bend Food Bank and served on the boards of Humility of Mary Housing and Humility of Mary Shelter.
Her funeral was held Dec. 20 at Humility of Mary Center with burial at Mt. Calvary Cemetery in Davenport. Memorials may be made to the Congregation of the Humility of Mary.
