Leslie Anne Fitzgerald, horticulturist
Leslie Anne Fitzgerald, 53, beloved daughter of Roy Fitzgerald and Jennie Keith of Lewes, died Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. The cause was liver failure after a three-year struggle with many treatments for colon cancer. Hospice in the final week was compassionate and caring, helping Leslie to be pain-free. Loving friends, her pastor and her family surrounded her with goodbyes, tears, music and prayers. Her parents embraced Leslie during her last peaceful breaths.
Leslie was born Sept. 10, 1965, at the Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, Mass. Premature, she weighed one kilogram and spent three months in an incubator, surviving to become a complete and joyful friend to all. She graduated Strath Haven High School in Wallingford, Pa., earned a bachelor’s degree at Guilford College, Greensboro, N.C., and a bachelor of science degree in horticulture at Temple University, Ambler, Pa. campus.
Her love of plants led her to professional employment and pro bono plant care; most recently for more than a decade and a half she worked for Home Depot in Plymouth Meeting, Pa., caring for their plants and flowers, and gave advice and clinics on sick plants for loyal customers. During her cancer journey she developed deep spiritual bonds and optimism at The Center for Conscious Living, Moorestown, N.J.
She was deeply involved with family near home and abroad. She loved hiking the dunes and swimming off Lewes Beach. She was predeceased by her mother, Elspeth Gordon Watson. She is survived by her parents, Roy Fitzgerald and Jennie Keith; siblings Robert Sean Fitzgerald of Haddonfield, N.J., Aaron Ross of Paris, France, and Kate Keith-Fitzgerald of Boston, Mass.; nephews, nieces, aunts and cousins in Great Britain and South Africa.
Leslie will be remembered at a Sunday celebration at Center for Conscious Living, 16 E. Main St., Moorestown, N.J., at 10 a.m., March 10. A family Quaker celebration is planned for the spring. Donations may be given to CCL, 302 N. Washington St., Suite 103, Moorestown, NJ (www.newthoughtccl.org), Samaritan Healthcare and Hospice, 5 Eves Dr., Suite 300, Marlton NJ (www.samaritannj.org), or your own choices to honor and memorialize her.
