Sr. Greta Fitzgerald

Sister Margaretha “Greta” Fitzgerald, CHM, 82, died December 17, 2024, at MercyOne-Genesis Davenport, Iowa. Funeral services will be held at Humility of Mary Center, 820 W Central Park Ave, Davenport. Services will be on Friday, December 20, with Rosary and Visitation, 4 pm and Vigil Service, 7 pm; Saturday, December 21, Mass of Christian Burial, 11 am, followed by interment at Mt. Calvary Cemetery, Davenport. Halligan-McCabe-DeVries Funeral Home is assisting with arrangements.

Margaretha Ann Fitzgerald was born January 26, 1942, in Marshalltown, Iowa, to Patrick Henry and Agnes Marie (Kunkel) Fitzgerald. She entered the Congregation of the Humility of Mary in 1962 and professed vows in 1965 as Sister Mary Isabelle.

Sr. Greta earned an associate’s degree in Liberal Arts in 1963 from Ottumwa Heights College in Ottumwa, Iowa, a BA in Elementary Education from Marycrest College in Davenport, in 1967, and an MA in Elementary Education in 1977, also from Marycrest College. She earned an MA in Religious Studies from the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas in 1993.

Sister served as a teacher at nine different schools for over forty years: St. Joseph School in Neola, Iowa, 1966-1967; St. Mary School in Oskaloosa, Iowa, 1967-1968; St. Mary School in Sigourney, Iowa, 1969; St. Theresa School in Des Moines, Iowa, 1969-1970; Christ the King School in Des Moines, 1972-1976 and 1977-1980; Lourdes Memorial School in Bettendorf, 1976-1977; Holy Trinity School in Davenport1980-1992; Sacred Heart Cathedral School in Dodge City, Kansas, 1992-2000; and St. Anthony School in Des Moines, 2000-2009. After retiring in 2009, she remained at the St. Anthony parish as a companion to the elderly until 2012, when she moved to Davenport to serve for five years as the CHM Vice President. 

Since 2017, Sister Greta volunteered at Humility of Mary Center in a ministry of prayer and witness. She was a volunteer for the River Bend Food Bank and served on the boards of Humility of Mary Housing and Humility of Mary Shelter.

Sr. Greta is preceded in death by her parents and infant sister Mary Ann Fitzgerald. She is survived by sister Nancy Grogan and brothers Eugene, David, Patrick, John, Joseph, Edward, and Jerald, as well as many nieces and nephews.

Memorials may be made to the Congregation of the Humility of Mary.