Battle ends for Cole 'Fightin' Fitzgerald,' Washington Township student who battled cancer

WASHINGTON TWP. – Cole Fitzgerald beat cancer as a toddler, then went on to accomplishments in the classroom, in youth sports and in efforts to defeat the disease.

But the 19-year-old, who was known as “Fightin’ Fitzgerald,” was diagnosed with a different cancer 18 months ago.

And this time, the illness prevailed.

Fitzgerald, a 2022 graduate of Washington Township High School, died at his home on Dec. 15, according to an obituary.

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Among his accomplishments, Fitzgerald defied disabilities to serve as a student assistant coach for Washington Township Youth Football and a four-year student coaching assistant at Washington Township High School.

"Cole had an immediate impact on our program as soon as he stepped foot on campus," recalled Mike Schatzman, the school's football coach.

"He lived and breathed football, especially Minuteman football."

How is Cole Fitzgerald being remembered?

However, the coach added, "As much of an impact we had on Cole, he had a much bigger impact on us. His toughness, commitment, and passion was contagious to every person he encountered."

Regardless of how much pain he was in, there was always a smile on his face. There’s really not a whole lot of kids that are like Cole," Schatzman said.

Fitzgerald was a regular and enthusiastic presence at the school’s football games, spending “every Friday night of the best years of his life on the sidelines,” the obituary said.

Two honors in his name are awarded to players at the youth football and high school levels — the Cole Fitzgerald Most Inspirational Player Award, the obituary noted.

The high school award is being expanded to include football and academic scholarships, with donations being taken at a GoFundMe page.

One contributor, Richard Zambino Jr., described himself as a former faculty member at the high school who recalled Fitzgerald as "among the greatest teachers to ever grace the halls of that institution."

"He lived life the right way. Cole never took a single moment for granted," Zambino wrote. "The kindness and compassion that he led with, in any interaction, spoke volumes. He met his adversities with positivity and persevered with everything he had. He never gave up no matter how tough things got, because he was a warrior, and that's what warriors do, they press on no matter the odds."

Sports fan was rewarded with Super Bowl tickets

Fitzgerald also cheered on Philadelphia sports teams. At age 13, he and his father, Bill Fitzgerald, watched the Eagles’ Super Bowl victory with game tickets donated by a Minnesota Vikings fan whose team had fallen short of the championship.

The unknown donor chose Fitzgerald after reading online articles about his accomplishments.

Fitzgerald also served on the executive class council in high school and was inducted into the National Honor Society as a junior, the obituary said.

He went on to Temple University, earning a 3.5 grade point average while undergoing treatment.

Fitzgerald was a student leader ambassador for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, becoming involved at age 6 with the pediatric cancer charity.

“He spent a considerable amount of his childhood, along with his family, raising funds, awareness and speaking to sponsors about the importance of funding childhood cancer research,” the obituary said.

It noted Fitzgerald for the past nine years appeared on the local broadcast of the charity’s telethon.

Fitzgerald was diagnosed shortly before his third birthday with neuroblastoma, a cancer that affects nerve cells, according to the website at Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation.

"He was given weeks to live at diagnosis and his long-term prognosis if he survived treatment was very grim," it said.

"Even at a young age, Cole tolerated his treatment and countless tests with smiles and an acceptance of all of the new people that were helping to save his life," it observed.

He was diagnosed in August 2022 with a pancreatic tumor.

“He never complained about why he developed cancer for a second time,” said Fitzgerald's obituary.

Fitzgerald donated his tumor tissue to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

The contributions were the cancer patient's “last gift to the advancement of science and targeted cures," the obituary said.

A memorial service is to be held in the spring at the high school's Tom Brown Field. The date has not yet been selected.

Donations may be made to the scholarship fund's GoFundMe account or to Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation – The Fightin Fitzgeralds’ Fund to Fight Rare Cancers at alexslemonade.org/cole.

Jim Walsh is a senior reporter for the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Email: Jwalsh@cpsj.com.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Cole 'Fightin' Fitzgerald of Washington Twp. had many accomplishments