Jane C. Fitzgerald

Berlin – Jane C. Fitzgerald (Aunt Jane), 88, of Park Avenue, Berlin, NY, died on Sunday morning, June 10, 2012, at the Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation at Hoosick Falls (NY) after a brief illness.
Born November 3, 1923, in Bennington, VT, she was the daughter of the late James and Alice Barden Fitzgerald. A 1940 graduate of Berlin High School, Jane was very active in the Berlin Senior Citizens, and she received the Senior Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010 at the 12th Annual Capital District Senior Issues Forum which honored seniors from Albany, Rensselaer, Schenectady and Saratoga counties. She was a communicant of the Sacred Heart Church in Berlin and a charter member of the Berlin Alumni Association. Jane was very civic minded and for years attended every Berlin Town Board meeting, until recently, often contributing her insights and no nonsense attitude to the meetings. She was closely listened to, especially when she came to the meetings with her shillelagh. Jane was also the Chairperson of the Berlin Independence Day Parade from 1993 to 2011 and was honored as the Grand Marshal of the 2011 Parade. She was a member of the Irish American Club of Pittsfield, MA, and the Taconic Valley Historical Society in Berlin.
Survivors include her nine nieces and nephews, Terry and wife Gloria Bentley, Ross and wife Martha Bentley, Kevin and wife Pauline Bentley (all of whom she helped raise), Karl and wife Tami Knapp, Henry E. and Alice Cerwinski, Debra Cerwinski and Mike Block, James and wife Lisa Cerwinski, Mike and  wife Debi Cerwinski, 19 great-nieces and great-nephews along with seven great-grand nieces and great-grand nephews.  She is pre-deceased by sisters, Teresa Knapp and Julia Cerwinski.
A Liturgy of Christian Death and Burial was celebrated by Rev. Kenneth Gregory on Wednesday, June 13, at noon in the Sacred Heart Church, Main Street, Berlin. Burial followed in St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Stephentown, NY. Calling hours were on Tuesday from 4 to 7 pm in the Thomas M. Barber Funeral Home, 66 Armsby Road, Petersburgh, NY.
To remember Jane is a special way, memorial contributions may be made to the July 4th Parade Committee, P.O. Box 66, Berlin, NY, 12022.