Anne FitzPatrick
1925 - 2023
Obituary
Anne Cilurzo FitzPatrick, 97, a generous woman of many talents who made friends wherever she went, died peacefully in Fairport, NY on January 22, 2023.
Anne was born in Syracuse, NY, to Joseph and Mary Cilurzo, who had recently emigrated from Italy. She graduated from North High School and began work as a secretary. Shortly after WWII, she met William J. FitzPatrick, a young army vet, at a benefit concert for the House of Providence, where they sang “Daisy Bell (Bicycle Built for Two)” together. This led to a 66-year marriage filled with love, music, creativity, humor, kindness, travel, and Anne’s famous Christmas cookies. Anne and Bill spent most of those years in DeWitt, NY, where they raised three children while Bill taught English at Jamesville-DeWitt High School and Anne worked as a children’s therapy aide at St. Joseph’s Hospital.
A gifted singer, Anne co-founded the Harmonettes, a women’s singing group that performed in the Syracuse area for many years. She also launched a support group for people with fibromyalgia, and co-founded Scriveners, a long-lived workshop for writers. Thanks to her own impressive writing talents, she published many essays and “as-told-to” interviews in Guideposts Magazine and Good Housekeeping, among others, on topics ranging from Libba Cotten’s classic folk music to near-death experiences.
Anne was a communicant of Holy Cross Church in DeWitt for much of her life and helped welcome and resettle Vietnamese and Laotian refugees in Syracuse, forming deep friendships along the way.
She sang with Holy Cross’s choir, the Harmonettes, and other ensembles into her late 70s. Also in her 70s, she performed with Bill in community song-and-dance reviews. Her children cherish the memory of seeing Anne and Bill onstage, singing “Do You Love Me?” from Fiddler on the Roof—decades after their first fateful duet.
Anne spent her final years at Heather Heights Assisted Living in Pittsford, NY, followed by the Fairport Baptist Home. At both places, as always, she was beloved for her good nature and admired for her resilience in the face of loss and physical challenges. She passed away in her own bed, after a sudden illness, surrounded by family.
She is predeceased by her husband, Bill; parents, Joseph and Mary; and siblings Vincenzo, Mary and Nicholina Collar.
Anne is survived by her children, Michael of DeWitt, NY; Kathleen (Henry) and William (Melissa) of Rochester, NY; her brother, Joseph Cilurzo of Buffalo; her grandchildren, Taylor and Nathan Briggs and David and Lily FitzPatrick; her sister-in-law, Nancy Rutschmann and many nieces and nephews.
Calling hours will be held on Sunday, January 29, 2023 from 1 - 4 pm, at the THOMAS J. PIRRO JR. FUNERAL HOME, 3401 Vickery Rd. (corner of Buckley Rd.) North Syracuse, NY. A Funeral Mass in celebration of Anne’s life will take place on Monday, January 30, 2023, 10 am at Holy Cross Church, 4112 E. Genesee St., DeWitt, followed by entombment at St. Mary’s Cemetery Mausoleum, DeWitt.
In lieu of sending flowers, please contribute to a charity of your choice or to a refugee resettlement program such as Refugee & Immigrant Self-Empowerment (https://refugeeandimmigrant.org).