On Tuesday, April 9, ‘‘Fitzy’’ was farewelled in a fitting way.
A funeral service was held at Deakin Reserve’s FJ Edwards Clubrooms to honour Ian Fitzsimmons, a man who devoted decades of his life to sport at that very venue.
Fitzsimmons’ unspoken agreement with Father Time came to an end on March 30, when he died peacefully aged 78.
His contribution to Goulburn Valley sport will not be soon forgotten.
Fitzsimmons had involvements spanning a quarter-of-a-century or more at Shepparton Football Netball Club, Shepparton Youth Club Cricket Club and Shepparton Golf Bowls Club to name a few.
Whether it was a perennial pencil scratch on the score sheet or a pre-match rub, Fitzy was king of the odd jobs.
A man described as a “gentle giant’’, Fitzsimmons quietly whittled away in the background, doing everything he could to champion whatever game he watched once the book closed on his playing career.
It all began for him at nine years of age, when he scored his first cricket game.
From then on the sport bug had bitten and Fitzsimmons’ life was soon enveloped in a sporting cloak; he did his best work on the weekends.
Fitzsimmons wore every hat within Shepparton Youth Club Cricket Club’s ranks on and off the field during the summer and, when the warmer months descended into winter, football took centre stage.
He began as a player for Shepparton Football Club, then transitioned into a trainer for his beloved Bears, serving 588 games on the trot while also pinch-hitting for the Goulburn Valley League interleague football side.
His 33-year stint at Deakin Reserve included roles as president, secretary and statistician and it was during his number-crunching days that current Shepparton Football Netball Club president Brendan Bicknell first came across Fitzsimmons.
“I spent a fair bit of time with Ian,” Bicknell said.
“In my playing days Ian was our statistician and that’s where I first met him. Then he joined the GVL board after finishing up as a stats man at Shepp and (I) had lots of connections with him there.
“He was an amazing contributor to the Shepparton Football Club that’s for sure, over a long period of time.
“He was a player, he was a past president of our club, statistician — he did everything.
“He’s certainly well respected in our club and has been a really valuable member of our community.”
Even when Fitzsimmons was poorly, Deakin Reserve still beckoned his name.
His unbridled love for the Bears rang true right until his last days, with Bicknell noting that even frailty couldn’t keep the long time Shepparton servant away from the stands.
“The last time I saw Fitzy was at one of our home games; he wasn’t well then, but he still showed up,” he said.
“He’s definitely been a big part of my time at the Shepp footy club, in particular when I was playing.
“He was a real gentle giant; he was a big, physical stature of a man, but he was really calm and gentle and spoke really quietly and politely when you did talk to him.
“That’s my fondest memories of him.
“We’ve been lucky to have a really strong backing from that older generation of people.
“Fitzy was one, Val Dominelli and a couple of others around that time that did some long stints with the Shepp footy club, but Fitzy was certainly one of the most hard-working and longest serving ones for sure.”
Post-Shepparton Football Netball Club, Fitzsimmons moved to a spot on the GVL board where he eventually went on to chair the organisation from 2002-07.
Around that time, Fitzy picked up a penchant for lawn bowls.
He joined Shepparton Golf Bowls Club and, like the many sporting clubs he’d served so fiercely before, Fitzsimmons stayed on for 25 years which included six years as president.
When all was said and done, Fitzsimmons was awarded life membership to five sports associations and four organisations through his rusted-on dedication to various codes, common or not.
Tuesday’s farewell was a finale fitting for a “gentle giant”; a hardened example of what a good club person should look like.
Put simply, Fitzy was laid to rest right where he should be.