Dr. Joseph F. Fitzgerald

Dr. Joseph F. Fitzgerald passed away on February 19, 2026, at the age of 90. A pioneering pediatric gastroenterologist, devoted husband, father, grandfather, and man of deep Christian faith, Joe lived a life defined by discipline, intellectual rigor, humor, and abiding love for his family.

Joe grew up in Chicago where, by his own account, he had little direction. That changed during his service in the U.S. Army when he was chosen to train as an operating room nurse, an opportunity that awakened a calling to medicine that shaped the rest of Joe’s life.

While Joe was stationed in Aberdeen, Maryland, friends arranged a blind date with Nell Norris, a schoolteacher from Boone, North Carolina. It was love at first sight. He was, in his words, “head over heels in love with this little southerner.” They were married five months later on May 3, 1958, shortly before Joe’s scheduled discharge. He knew he could not leave without her.

After Joe graduated from St. Joseph’s College in Rensselaer, Indiana, the young couple moved to Indianapolis so Joe could begin medical school at Indiana University. Those years were marked by hard work and sacrifice. Joe worked as a phlebotomist, drawing blood each morning at 6:30 a.m. before classes. At night, he swept and cleaned the tunnels that connected the medical center buildings. He studied after returning home, often late into the evening.

It was during these years that Joe and Nell’s three daughters were born. Joe often described these as the best three days of his life.

Following Joe’s residency and a fellowship in adult gastroenterology at IU, Dr. Morris Green recruited Joe to stay in academic medicine and develop what was then a nascent field: pediatric gastroenterology. At a time when pediatric subspecialties were just emerging nationally, Joe founded the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology at Riley Hospital for Children in 1969.

Over the course of Joe’s career, he introduced and advanced innovations in pediatric GI and liver disease care that saved and improved many lives. He performed Riley’s first percutaneous liver biopsies, pioneered the use of parenteral nutrition to significantly reduce mortality in critically ill infants, led treatment innovations during outbreaks of Reye’s syndrome, and played a key role in the early development of pediatric liver transplantation at Riley. Through his research, publications, and the physicians he trained, Joe’s influence extended far beyond his own patients -- saving and improving the lives of countless children.

Colleagues knew him as exacting, disciplined, and committed to high standards, but also humble. As he would often tell his GI fellows, he just wanted to “do a little doctoring.” His legacy lives on in the division he built, the physicians he trained, and the children whose lives were made better by his work.

Joe and Nell were married for 67 years until her passing in August 2025. Their partnership was marked by resilience, humor, and deep mutual devotion. He often spoke in recent months of his reunion with her.

Joe is survived by his daughters: Catherine (David) Duclos, Susan (Anthony) Bonanno, and Judith Fitzgerald (Cynthia Collins); his granddaughters Alyssa Bonanno (Will) Mayer, Gabrielle Bonanno, Isabella Bonanno, and Elizabeth Fitzgerald Farrell; along with extended family, colleagues, former students, and grateful patients.

Joe’s family will celebrate his life during a service on March 19, 2026 at 5:00 PM at Faith Church 9125 N College Avenue in Indianapolis, with a reception to follow. The family will be available for visitation before the service beginning at 4:00 pm.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Actors Theatre of Indiana ("ATI") or mailed to Actors Theatre of Indiana, 510 3rd Avenue SW, Carmel, IN 46032. Joe helped establish ATI and faithfully served as a founding board member. A loving father of ATI’s Co-Founder and Artistic Director, Judy Fitzgerald, he took immense pride in supporting the theatre and its artistic mission. Gifts made in his memory will continue the artistic work and legacy in which he believed so deeply.