Shane Fitzsimons class of 1985 RIP
Shane Fitzsimons (class of 1985) RIP
The RCU is deeply saddened to hear that Shane Fitzsimons (class of 1985) passed away unexpectedly on October 27, 2023, after a brief but hard-fought battle with an aggressive form of brain cancer. He was 55.
Shane was born on December 27, 1967, in Belfast, Northern Ireland. After brief stints living in both Belfast and Manchester, his family moved to Kinsale, Co. Cork where he grew up and maintains deep ties until this day. He attended secondary school in Kinsale and at Rockwell College, Co. Tipperary. Post-secondary school, Shane studied to become an accountant, just like his father Garry. He successfully completed his studies and was admitted as a Fellow to the Irish Institute of Chartered Accountants in 1993.
That same year, Shane married his long-time love, Deirdre Whelan, and so began a 30-year adventure! They began in the Netherlands, and while there in 1998 he became the proud father of his darling daughter, Keelin. His family moved to the USA in 2000, and over the next 7 years, sons Eoin, Conor & Ciaran were born. With his loving family complete, Shane was ready for his next challenge! A job opportunity presented itself to move to Asia in 2011, and the whole family moved to Hong Kong where they lived for 8 years. After a short time working in India, Shane took a job in New York and in 2022 the family settled in Weston, Connecticut.
Shane and his family’s adventure was due in large part to his highly successful career in finance. His career had humble beginnings as a trainee accountant with his father’s small accountancy practice in Kinsale, Fitzsimons Flynn & Co. A 20-year career at GE followed where Shane held leadership positions in several GE businesses across the world including Plastics, Aircraft Engines, Corporate and GGO. After a brief period as Synergy Officer with Tata Group in India, he joined AIG in 2019 as Global Head of Shared Services. In 2021 he was appointed CFO of AIG and ended his impressive career in this role in 2023. Shane was an impactful business leader who invested deeply in the people around him.
An enthusiastic traveler, Shane visited 149 countries across all 7 continents and was always up for taking his family on adventures off the beaten track. His most memorable travel adventure was celebrating his 50th birthday in Antarctica with his family and 10,000 penguins! As an avid sports fan and participant, many of these travels involved some sort of sporting event as Shane loved Irish Rugby, playing golf, running, Formula 1, and supporting his beloved Manchester United. While he was lucky to attend World Cups, Ryder Cups, and the Olympics amongst others, his favorite sporting events were those where his children participated while he enthusiastically coached from the sidelines.
An unstoppable force, when Shane set his mind to something he got it done. He was strong-willed, incredibly intelligent, and deeply thoughtful. Yet, he was humble, never forgetting where he came from. Shane brought passion and intensity to everything he did, including supporting many charities across the globe and investing in his local communities. Shane was someone impossible to put into words, but to know him was a gift. Although his adventures have now ended, Shane embraced every step along the way and loved his family and friends more than anything. May he rest in peace. Shane is survived by his wife Deirdre, children Keelin, Eoin, Conor & Ciaran, his mother Anne and his siblings Paula, Barry & David. Shane was predeceased by his father Garry.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in memory of Shane can be made to the Susan Beris, MD Endowed Fund for Yale Brain Tumor Surgery at the Yale School of Medicine. For online donations, please go to https://bit.ly/3Nlc4JH, and in the other section type in “Susan Beris, MD Endowed Fund for Yale Brain Tumor Surgery.” Alternatively, please make checks payable to Yale School of Medicine and send them to Yale School of Medicine, PO Box 7611, New Haven, CT 06519. On the check memo line please write “Susan Beris, MD Endowed Fund for Yale Brain Tumor Surgery.”
The Funeral Mass was on Saturday, November 4 2023 at 11am at St. Pius X Parish Church in Fairfield, CT. A livestream was be available by clicking the link below. Following the service, a reception was held at the Gaelic American Club in Fairfield.