KATY, Texas – Bridget Ann Fitzpatrick entered the world determined. On Dec. 27, 1964, Bridget was born in Portland during an ice storm. The sixth child of Ada Fraser and James Fitzpatrick, her determination, kindness and brilliance were the best part of who she was. She died suddenly on May 4, 2022 while traveling for work. The morning of the trip she posted on Facebook, “Feeling happy.”

Bridget enjoyed being with people and sharing her joy with others. Always the smartest person in the room, Bridget was also one of the most caring and kind. When you were with her, you were with her. She had a “wicked” sense of humor and could find humor in any situation.

She was salutatorian of the 1983 class at South Portland High School. She could have chosen any college major, but chose engineering when few women were entering the field. She attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology on a work/study scholarship, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering. At Michigan State, she continued with graduate studies in chemical engineering and later earned an MBA of technology management from the University of Phoenix.

After graduation from MIT in 1987, she didn’t have a particular career path in mind, but she had a desire to solve big problems and “save the world.” During her career, she sought out the most interesting and difficult problems, and forged friendships with people all over the world. She cared about you and your story.

Holding many positions over the years as an engineer and manager, she became Global Technical Lead for Automation at Wood Group (formerly Mustang Engineering). As an industry leader, she generously used her people skills to share her technical expertise with a wider audience. For decades, she participated in setting industrial automation standards for the world. She worked with numerous organizations, among them ISA, API, ANSI, and the Open Process Automation Forum. The ISA honored and recognized her body of work, naming her ISA Fellow in 2016. In 2021 she was inducted into the Control Process Automation Hall of Fame.

Bridget is survived by her beloved long-time partner, Byron Lemmond; her siblings Michael Fitzpatrick and his wife Jennifer, Martin Fitzpatrick and his fiancé Debbie Walton, Barbara St. Clair, Beth Horne, Melissa Skahan and her husband Patrick; and her nieces and nephews Paula Deas, Geoffrey Deas, Sean Fitzpatrick, Ashley Fitzpatrick, Sarah Fitzpatrick, Liz Mireles Quevedo, John Mireles, Meaghan Anderson, Mary Willis, Bridget Skahan, Will Horne, Ada Horne; and her great-nieces and nephews Arianna, Molly, Maggie, Riddick, Ryder, Addilyn, Ruby, Ada, Mia, Patrick, Donovan, and Devin.

Bridget loved her family and cherished the friends she made all over the world. She had a deep love of the ocean and her home state of Maine, where her ashes will be scattered. Services will be private.

Donations in remembrance of Bridget may be sent to the ISA scholarship fund (www.isa.org/donation) noting “in memory of Bridget Fitzpatrick,” or alternately to The Cattery Cat Shelter in Corpus Christi, Texas (thecatterycc.org).