Bridget Ann Fitzpatrick

Bridget Ann Fitzpatrick was born in Portland, Maine on December 27, 1964 during an ice storm. The 8th child (6th surviving) of Ada Fraser and James Fitzpatrick, she entered the world determined. Her determination, kindness and brilliance were always a 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, cared about people, and looked forward to sharing her latest thoughts with her peers.

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 the funny in any situation. Her determination and brilliance produced impressive accomplishments while her kindness led to many life-long friends. She was salutatorian of her class at South Portland High School in 1983. She could have chosen any college major, loved the classics but chose engineering in a time when few women were entering the field. She attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on a work/study scholarship, ultimately earning a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering. At Michigan State, she continued with graduate studies in chemical engineering and later attended the University of Phoenix, earning an MBA in technology management.

After graduation from MIT in 1987, she didn’t have a particular career path in mind. Always at the back of her mind was a desire to solve big problems and “save the world.” Throughout her career, she sought out the most interesting and difficult problems she could find, while at the same time forging friendships with people all over the world. She cared about you and your story.

In a recent article Bridget had this to say about her choice of career, “I wanted to solve the biggest problem at hand and followed that path….Had I not been poor, I might have stayed with studies of Latin and Greek and the wonderful world of the classics. But I was drawn to math, science, and the financial possibilities of being an engineer….As a child, I was always curious how things worked, and how they were made. Perhaps always an engineer at heart….When I was named a Fellow of the International Society of Automation, there was a fair bit of discussion on the breaking of glass ceilings. It surprised me to an extent since I do not consciously carry gender as part of my professional identity. Though, of course, gender choice is foundational. For me, the importance of inclusion stems from the observation that the best solution is generally one that includes a diverse set of perspectives and provides the best results on a big picture scale….Being a college kid when the song “We are the World” was popular, it echoes in my head a bit as I write this. Which leaves me a notion that we are the ones who make a brighter day, and it is time to do it.”

Bridget joined Celanese Chemicals in Bishop, TX, in 1989, where her initial interests led her to start as a process engineer, but then moved into process control engineering when the control engineers wouldn’t implement control schemes to her satisfaction. After completing her MBA, she moved into Celanese middle management. Next, she began working for Mustang Engineering (now Wood Group), Houston, TX, in 2003. Holding many positions over the years at Mustang, she eventually became their Global Technical Lead for Automation. She generously utilized 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 standards setting organizations, among them ISA, API, ANSI, and the Open Process Automation Forum. She was an industry thought leader whose body of work ISA honored and recognized, naming her ISA Fellow in 2016. Then, 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, TX (thecatterycc.org).

Bridget made the world a bit brighter each day of her short life. It’s up to each one of us to take inspiration from her commitment to save the world and bring about the change she sought. Bridget’s light continues in each one of us as we “make a brighter day.”