Knight of the Month – Feb 2024

Mike Fitzgerald

Mike Fitzgerald is from Silver Bay, Minnesota which is in northern Minnesota outside of Duluth on Lake Superior.  He is 72 yrs old and is the second eldest of 5 boys ( Gary, Mike, Pat, Dave, and Mark).  Now that Mike has been retired for about 5 years now, he says that they go back and visit every so often.  Being that he is from that area, he loves to go fishing more so than everyone else in his family.  In fact, he loves to look forward to going with Allen Reitmeier together on fishing trips out here.  He was born and raised Catholic as his parents are from Ashland, Wisconsin.  He was an alter boy and growing up he became an alter server which he found to be very rewarding.  Mike and his wife, Susan, have 3 kids ( 2 girls and 1 boy).  He also has 14 grandkids.  They were married in 1980 and his children attended Desoto High School as well as Texas A&M University down in College Station.  Mike moved to Dallas in 1978.  He himself attended Macalester College in Minnesota where he played football, majored in Economics, and minored in political science.  He remembers Father Crossman of St. Mary’s Catholic Church and he joining them for dinner now and then.  His family had moved to Finland, MN after his 5th grade year.  Mike eventually became an insurance broker and underwriter as a profession.  He maybe considered being an attorney, but a professor made it clear that you had to think and  respond quickly.  He decided not to.  He played football all 4 years of school, but was injured for his senior year.  Mike’s father was the head custodian at his school district and his mother was a simple homemaker.  He joined the Knights of Columbus in the year 2000 at Holy Spirit and was recruited by the grand knight at the time, Bill Chalko.  He quickly became treasurer and then in effective order he served as recorder, chancellor, deputy grand knight, and then grand knight.  He says, “every life is precious and to be treasured,”  and that his grandkids are an example of that.  “You appreciate it more,” he says.  Mike says he likes Dallas, enjoys gardening (green beans, carrots, beets, potatoes, corn) where he and Susan have 10 acres in order to do so.  Mike is also currently a caregiver as well.