Jennie (Genya) Catherine Humanick Fitzpatrick, 90, Atlanta, Georgia, entered eternal life on January 17, 2016.  She was born on September 11, 1925 to Joseph and Catherine Humanick who had emigrated from the Ukraine.  

She grew up in Reinerton, Pennsylvania in a beautiful brick home on the main street with her two older brothers and mother.  Unfortunately, her father missed the majority of her life.  He was killed in a mining accident when she was very young.  As a little girl, Genya had pet rabbits that she loved.  Depression times were so hard and made harder with the loss of her father, that without her knowing it her rabbits “disappeared” and were eaten as food.  Like a lot of Depression era babies, she grew up and maintained throughout her life qualities of strength and practicality that she passed on to her children. 

The man who later became her husband, William, first laid eyes on her while they were both teenagers.  Jennie was visiting her father’s gravesite with flowers, and William was doing a part-time job digging a grave.  His affection for her was more obvious when he drove a car into a telephone pole in front of her house on Main St. while watching her shake a rug on the front porch.  Jennie was an aggressive cleaner and organizer her entire life.

Jennie attended Porter Township High School, where she excelled at academics and played on the varsity women’s basketball team.  She received an academic scholarship to St. Luke’s Nursing School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  As a Registered Nurse she worked across many departments in the hospital.  Jennie had a calling for taking care of premature babies.  On January 16, 1950 she received lead recognition in an article in the Pottsville Journal for the “saving” of a two-pound baby named John Michael Anthony.  She and the staff took him to 6lbs 14 ounces so that he could go home with his ecstatic and blessed mother and father.  The paper showed a photo of her holding the baby and handing him over to the overjoyed parents.

Prior to any significant courtship, her husband was drafted into WWII and served in France and The Philippines immediately after graduating from high school.  After which, he spent time away from her building a career; they eventually married and had two children, Cathy and William Jr.  Cathy was born in 1958 in New Jersey.  “Billy,” as she called her son, was born in Alabama in 1960.  In 1961 they moved into their home on Richland St. in Livonia, Michigan where she lived until 2007.  She worked 30 years part-time, midnights, at St. Mary’s Hospital in Livonia, Michigan.  Jennie enjoyed the professional environment and her craft; however, her priority was as a mother.  She never missed being present at breakfast or at lunch with her son who went to elementary school four houses away, or dinner every night as a family.  She attended weekly mass with her family and had a strong prayer life that she relied upon after the passing of her husband sixteen years ago.  

In 2007, Jennie moved to Atlanta to live in an assisted living facility to be near her family.  She is survived by her daughter, Cathy, her son-in-law, Phil Kleiber, and grandchildren, Elizabeth, Julia, and “Dear” David as she called him, as well as her son, William Jr. and daughter-in-law, Renata. Jennie’s sweetness, strength, and personality were the hub of a loving family.

Mass of Christian Burial will be Celebrated at St. Peter and Paul Chapel, Tower City, on Friday, January 22, 2016. The viewing will be at 10:00 am with mass to follow at 11:00 am.   Burial will be in the Sacred Heart Cemetery, Williamstown.   In lieu of flowers, please send donations in Jennie’s memory to: 

St. Peter and Paul Chapel c/o
Most Blessed Trinity Parish
113 Cherry Street
Tremont, PA  17981

To sign the guest book visit www.dimonfuneralhome.com.

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