John “Jack” Fitzgerald (1922 – 2001) was a Rockaway native and owner of Fitzgerald’s Bar, who was also a member of the Chamber of Commerce and a President of the Rockaway Rotary Club.

Fitzgerald was born in 1922 on Beach 106th Street in Rockaway, Queens to John Fitzgerald and Anne Foley of Limerick, Ireland. His parents had come from Ireland looking for a better life, and settled in Rockaway to raise their family. Jack attended St. Francis DeSales in Belle Harbor, Bishop Loughlin High School in Brooklyn, and attended Manhattan College in the Bronx, before moving on to the Academy of Aeronautics, across from LaGuardia Airport. His education helped him in service as a Sergeant in the United States Army from 1942 to 1945. He was an aircraft mechanic and trainer during the Second World War, and proud of being chosen to guard President Harry Truman during a visit to New York.

After the War, he married Ellen Hancock in November of 1947, and soon after purchased Fitzgerald’s Hotel on Beach 108th Street and Shore Front Parkway in Rockaway. He served as a member of the Chamber of Commerce and a President of the Rockaway Rotary Club. The stories about Jack Fitzgerald are part of the history of the Rockaways. Jack had a great sense of humor, and always saw the best in people - when a group of neighborhood teens broke into his business, he decided to give them a job rather than a police record. He was the perfect example of the “it takes a village” philosophy. He loved people and telling stories of his world travels; especially the story of meeting a person in Tokyo, Japan wearing one of his “Fitzgerald’s Tavern” tee shirts. Jack sold Fitzgerald’s Hotel in 1982 and retired, but stayed in Rockaway until 1995, when he moved to be cared for by his children.