Danielle Monique Fitzgerald

South Portland- Danielle Monique Fitzgerald, 47, of Pepperbush Circle, passed away on December 13, 2016 following a brief illness. She was born in Newark, Ohio, a daughter of Douglas A. Hemmerly and Vicky L. (Morrow) Stocker. She attended schools in Ohio and graduated from Utica High School in 1988. She later graduated from Andover College in Portland where she earned her Medical Assistant Degree. She met Terrence Fitzgerald, an active duty Air Force Staff Sergeant, while he was stationed at Cannon AFB in Clovis, New Mexico. They later married in January of 1993 and they continued to reside in Clovis where they began raising a family of three children. In June of 2002 after Terry's retirement, they moved to Portland and soon after settled in South Portland. Danielle continued to raise their children and attend college at the same time. She worked at Hannaford's at Mill Creek in South Portland and later at Intermed in Portland and South Portland. She most recently worked at Mid Coast Medical in Bath.

She was an avid sports fan and especially loved The Ohio State Buckeye's football team and the Indianapolis Colts. She was very involved with her children's activities throughout their lives. She was very active in the Down Syndrome community which involved her son, Brady. She was also active in her son Ryan's involvement with soccer and was proud of his service in the U.S. Air Force. She shared the love of animals and travel with her daughter, Kailyn. She adored her sisters and always made sure to be involved with their lives.

She was pre-deceased by her grandparents.

She is survived by her parents; her husband, Officer Terrence Fitzgerald of the Portland ME Police Department; children, Ryan, Brady and Kailyn; sisters, Chelsey Street of Ohio, Cully Anderson of Ontario, Canada, Kristen O'Brien of Colorado and Heather Hemmerly Scarberry of Ohio; uncle, Mike Morrow of Indiana; aunt, Lynn and her husband Pat Birch of Clovis, New Mexico. She is also survived by numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

Friends and family are invited to a time of visitation from 4-7 pm on Tuesday, December 20, 2016, at Jones Rich & Hutchins Funeral Home, 199 Woodford Street, Portland. A funeral service will be held at 11 am on Wednesday at the funeral home.

The family would like to thank the Portland Portland Police Department for their care and support during this difficult time. They would also like to acknowledge the nurses and doctors of Maine Medical Center, especially the staff at Special Care Unit 4, for the care they provided to Danielle and the support they gave to the family.

In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to the Maine Down Syndrome Network, P.O. Box 705, Windham, ME 04062.

Please visit www.jonesrichandhutchins.com for additional information and to sign Danielle’s online guest book

Go Buckeyes O-H-I-O