Jim Fitzgerald volunteers for love of Petaluma community

The Rebuilding Together Petaluma aid is the Volunteer of the Year for Petaluma.|

Jim Fitzgerald worked on his first home building project at the age of 10. He helped his father, who was stationed at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia, mix cement and carry blocks.

Seven decades later, the Petaluma resident is still working on houses, now as a volunteer with Rebuilding Together Petaluma. At 80 years old, he takes on two building projects per year for the nonprofit that helps low income home owners repair their houses.

“I like making something that works for people,” Fitzgerald said. “You have people that would be homeless or on the verge without our help.”

For his efforts, Fitzgerald was awarded as the Volunteer of the Year at the Petaluma Community Award of Excellence.

No stranger to volunteer work, Fitzgerald has worked for local nonprofits since moving to Petaluma with his wife, Linda, in 1999. He started out volunteering with Christmas Cheer, a group that collects and distributes holiday items for families in need. Through that work, he met Jane Hamilton, executive director of Rebuilding Together, and was recruited into his first home building project.

In nominating him for the award, Hamilton wrote that Fitzgerald is a “phenomenal volunteer who works relentlessly to make things better for everyone.”

“He is very patient with elderly homeowners, who sometimes happen to be younger than he is,” she wrote. “Jim is also a very hard worker, often doing the physical labor of two men half his age. ... Jim Fitzgerald gives so much into the Petaluma Community.”

Fitzgerald spent a career as a pilot, first in the Air Force, where he flew B52 missions over the North and South Poles from his base in Roswell, New Mexico. When the base shut down, he went to work for Pacific Southwest Airlines, where he flew for 20 years.

He was living in Pacifica when he met Linda, his third wife, at a Jazz concert, and the two moved to Petaluma. He also raised an adopted son.

Besides Rebuilding Together, where he puts in 80 hours per home project, and Christmas Cheer, Fitzgerald also volunteers with the Petaluma Service Alliance. He helped rebuild the Walnut Park police substation and other projects. A member of the Petaluma Kiwanis Club, he works on fundraisers such as the club’s annual Thanksgiving turkey drive.

He helps out at First Presbyterian church and is known as a handyman in his Petaluma neighborhood, building walls, installing home gardens and trimming trees.

Fitzgerald has shown no sign of slowing down since he turned 80. Later this month, he starts on his next rebuilding project, a home for two Vietnam veterans.

He takes the Volunteer of the Year award in stride, noting that he does not volunteer for the accolades.

“It was quite an honor. I was wildly embarrassed,” he said. “It further motivated me to do more work.”

(Contact Matt Brown at matt.brown@arguscourier.com.)

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