Roy G. Fitzgerald - Later Life

Later Life

After his Congressional service, he resumed the independent practice of law in Dayton, with partners Thomas H. Ford, and Wayne F. Lee.

From 1927 to 1930, he was a delegate to the Carnegie Foundation's Inter-Parliamentary Union at Paris, Berlin, Geneva, and London to study methods of classifying international law.

An active man, Roy Fitzgerald climbed Mount Rainier in 1925 and four years later swam the Bosphorus from Europe to Asia in a cold rain. The swim took him 30 minutes.

In June 1934, Congressman Fitzgerald purchased a Dayton-area farm from Frederick B. Patterson, president of National Cash Register Corp. The farm was 133 acres (0.54 km2) located on Rural Road 11, one and a half miles south of Alexandersville, and three miles (5 km) east of Miamisburg.

Fitzgerald was a director of the Merchants National Bank & Trust Company in Dayton for more than 50 years, and president of the Montgomery County Historical Society for 22 years. Although he was not a Dayton native, he enthusiastically led in helping to preserve many Dayton landmarks, notably Newcom Tavern and the Old Court House. During his presidency, a six million dollar bond was issued to build a new Court House with the condition that the Old Court House building be kept intact. The Court House later became the headquarters of the Historical Society. He oversaw the conservation of the Tavern and began deliberations about its relocation to Carillon Historical Park.

Roy Gerald Fitzgerald died in Dayton after a long illness and is interred with his family at Woodland Cemetery, Dayton, Ohio.