Hubert J. FitzGerald, 87

Hubert J. FitzGerald, 87, a Lancaster artist and decorated World War II veteran, died Saturday, June 4, 2011.

Hube, also called “Fitz,” drew inspiration from the fields and farmland of Lancaster County for his art. His paintings and drawings were widely exhibited, including the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, and the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh. Just last month he attended the opening of his one-man art show, Moments in Time: Paintings by Hubert J. FitzGerald, at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg, Pa. He was part of a recent exhibit at Pittsburgh’s American Jewish Museum.

Hube spent 34 years at Armstrong World Industries, where he served in varying design capacities until retiring in 1985. He was married to Nancy A. McKee FitzGerald for 49 years, until her death in 2000.

Hube was born in 1923 in Jeannette Pa., the son of Hubert Joseph and Clara Yurt FitzGerald. He studied fine arts at Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon), but his education was interrupted by World War II. He was selected for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), an elite intelligence branch that preceded the CIA.  He was shot in 1945 during a mission in Holland. He was awarded a Purple Heart, which he kept tucked away in a cedar chest, along with a wooden cross given to him in the hospital by the young German soldier who shot him.

Hube graduated from Carnegie Tech with the Class of ’49, which included artist Andy Warhol. He worked for Alcoa in Pittsburgh, and then Armstrong, where he was a product design manager for the flooring division. Every night after supper with his five children, he headed for his basement studio, where he always had a painting on the easel. As his mobility decreased, his dining room table became his studio, a perfect spot for the watercolors he so enjoyed.

“His work is noteworthy for its technical precision and versatility and he is comfortable working in a broad spectrum of different media-graphite, egg tempera, oil, watercolor, or woodcut,” The Westmoreland noted at Hube’s show, which continues through the summer.  Hube told the museum: “After choosing a subject, I make a decision to use the art medium that best expresses and supports… each visual moment.”

He was a long-time member of the Echo Valley Art Group, and a judge for Lancaster’s Scholastic Art Show and the summer art show in Stone Harbor, N.J. He designed an annual Christmas card, some years silk-screening hundreds of prints with his family.

Hube had a passion for fly fishing and liked nothing better than a day at the Yellow Breeches Creek. He tied his own flies and did illustrations for Trout magazine. He was a founding member of St. Leo the Great Catholic Church.

In addition to his wife, Hube was preceded in death by a daughter, Ann. Surviving are a son, Roche FitzGerald (Fran) of Columbia;  four daughters, Mary Scaccia (Peter) of Lancaster, Susan FitzGerald Cochran (David) of Villanova, Sarah Mika (Andy) of Fairfax, Va., and Patricia Aichele (Tom) of Arlington Heights, Ill.; 16 grandchildren; and a sister, Mary Lou Domenick of Jeannette. He is also survived by a very close friend, Carol Morgan.

A viewing is scheduled for Wednesday, June 8, 6 to 8 p.m., with a recitation of the Rosary at 7:45 p.m., at Charles F. Snyder Funeral Home & Crematory, 414 E. King St., Lancaster. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Thursday, June 9, at 11 a.m. at St. Leo the Great Catholic Church, 2427 Marietta Ave., Lancaster, with The Rev. Peter I. Hahn officiating. Entombment will be at St. Joseph’s New Catholic Cemetery, with Military Honors accorded by Red Rose Veterans Honor Guard. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Lancaster Catholic High School/Art Department, 650 Juliette Ave., Lancaster, Pa. 17601, or Hempfield Meals on Wheels, 2120 Shaaron Dr., Lancaster, Pa. 17601. To send the family online condolences, please visit SnyderFuneralHome.com. Charles F. Snyder Funeral Home & Crematory 717-393-9661.