Daniel F. Fitzgibbon, Jr., 82, Simpsonville, died Wednesday, October 23, 2013, at Baptist Hospital East. A native of Chicago, Ill., he was the son of the late Bridie Sheehan and Daniel F. Fitzgibbon, Sr. He served in Bermuda with the United States Air Force from 1950- 1954 where he maintained and constructed air fields using drilling and blasting techniques.
He was an expert explosives engineer and had worked on many construction projects and mines. He drilled and loaded holes in various quarries in Illinois and Wisconsin with the Trojan Powder Company, Vibration Measurement Engineers, and Explosives Engineers Company from 1959-1969. He then moved his family to West Virginia to work on Interstate 64/Kanawha Turnpike in the South Charleston area. Mr. Fitzgibbon performed pre-splitting and blasting operations.
The gap that he blasted through the sandstone acquired the nickname “Dan’s Canyon.” One of two walls was removed by later construction, but a smooth and symmetrical wall still stands as a testament to his skill. From 1976 – 1987, Mr. Fitzgibbon owned and operated a limestone quarry in southern Randolph County, W. Va. Mr. Fitzgibbon mined and sold crushed limestone to many customers, including the West Virginia Department of Highways and the new Snowshoe Mountain Ski Resort.
Upon moving to Kentucky in 1987, Mr. Fitzgibbon painstakingly began to compile a catalog of drilling and blasting supplies. Using his extensive knowledge of and contacts in the explosives industry, the Blasters Tool and Supply Company catalog was created, and is still in use today. Mr. Fitzgibbon created and operated Powder Monkey Inc., a small wholesale blasting supply business, including the marketing and sales of his air decking system. Mr. Fitzgibbon continued to work with Blasters Tool and Supply Company in a limited capacity. It was during this time and up until his death that Mr. Fitzgibbon began working on his six patents, the most familiar being for the air decking system. Then in 2001, he started Fitzco, LLC, his last business venture that did much the same as Powder Monkey but with less travel.
Mr. Fitzgibbon was a member of the International Society of Explosive Engineers. He was a familiar face at trade shows, conventions, and ISEE conferences and traveled extensively all over the world. He often had a booth set up to show his air decking system to attendees. He didn’t know a stranger, and knew and was known by hundreds, if not thousands of the movers and shakers in the explosive industry. He told many hilarious stories from his experiences in the industry. Dan was a creative, joyful and optimistic person!
In his leisure time, he enjoyed golf and fishing and normally visited lakes in the Alexandria, Minn., area at least twice annually. In addition to his parents, one brother, John J. Fitzgibbon and one sister, Anastasia Phillips, preceded him in death.
Survivors include his wife, Patricia M. Dain Fitzgibbon of Simpsonville; three sons, Brian Fitzgibbon of Jeffersontown and Barry Fitzgibbon and Timothy Fitzgibbon, both of Simpsonville and one daughter, Meg Ann Fitzgibbon of Shelbyville. Donations may be made to Brain Injury Alliance of Kentucky online at biak.us or to Wounded Warrior online at www.woundedwarriorproject.org.
