John Robert Fitzgerald, III, age 46 of Destin, Fl., passed away June 3, 2017.  He was born in 1970 in New Orleans, La. to Johnny and Teelie Fitzgerald.  John attended Darlington School in Rome, Ga., St. Stanislaus in Bay St. Louis, MS., and received his GED from Choctawhatchee High School in Ft. Walton Beach, FL.  He also attended Okaloosa Walton Community College.  John challenged the norm, and after working for several years was determined to open his own business, which he did, salvaging and refurbishing his initial equipment out of a dumpster.  Those humble beginnings were the building blocks for Coastal Beach Service, a successful beach service business serving most of Okaloosa Island and two properties in Destin.

   John was proud of his business, but his true accomplishment was the impact he had on the lives of his employees, customers and others.  John was a mentor and was able to turn around the lives of many of the kids that he worked with that were going down the wrong path.  He made numerous water rescues during his time on the beach and was acknowledged in the paper several times.  Nothing made him happier than to follow the lives of the people he saved and their many accomplishments.

John was particularly close to his family.  He would drop by his parents’ house often to chat and have dinner, and spent as much time as he could with his sisters and extended family.  John was a loving husband and devoted father.  He was crushed by the loss of his oldest son, Peyton, and relished the time he was able to spend with his younger sons, Connor and Tristan.  John was a loyal friend.  His Dennis Quaid smile will be greatly missed.

  John was preceded in death by his mother, Teelie Fitzgerald, and son, Peyton Fitzgerald.  He is survived by his wife, Kim, and their sons, Connor and Tristan, his father, Johnny Fitzgerald, his sister, Peggy Fitzgerald, his sister, Teelie Smith and her husband, Eric, and their children, Lauren, Delaney and Hayden.   

 A Memorial Service will be held at 10:00 a.m. on July 8, 2017, at Destin United Methodist Church.  Reception at 1 p.m. at the Ramada Beach Resort.

Expressions of love and sympathy may be placed and viewed online at www.emeraldcoastfuneralhome.com

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