Nathan Fitzgerald: Heartbreaking scenes as 27yo teacher who died in footy match accident laid to rest

Loved ones have held back tears as they remember a young teacher who died after suffering critical head injuries during a local football match in Melbourne’s suburbs.

Nathan ‘Fitzy’ Fitzgerald, 27, died in hospital two days after suffering blows to the head during a match between Lalor and Epping reserves on July 4.

Soft piano music played as mourners, largely dressed in black, gathered at Plenty Ranges Arts Convention Centre in South Morang to say their final goodbyes to the beloved young man on Monday.

A black-and-white image of Mr Fitzgerald smiling in a tuxedo stood at the front of the room, with two large hearts filled with roses - one with white, the other with red - placed in front.

“Forever our Nathan,” read a sign placed over the flowers.

A black coffin was carried by pallbearers, who huddled into an embrace as they walked through the building.

The 27-year-old was remembered as a much-loved friend, fiance, teacher, and life coach, who always saw the best in others.

Nathan’s close friend Hank held back tears as he remembered his best mate.

“Nathan was loved wholeheartedly,” he said.

The pair met during their first year of high school and had been attached at the hip ever since, he said.

Hank said he and Mr Fitzgerald were “discussing everything” about their lives and their future just days before his death.

“That time I got with him is something I’ll forever be grateful for and cherish for the rest of my life,” he said.

“Our conversations of the future were always optimistic depictions,” he said.

“Standing next to each other at our weddings, (our) kids growing up together. We had a lot of friendship before us.

“Unfortunately, I’ll have to walk the rest of that without Nath, and that’s heartbreaking.”

Hank said his best friend was someone who always wanted others to be happy, and was “baffled by the notion that any other person could hurt one another”.

“And when he felt he’d done, so accidentally, he’d need to rectify this immediately.

“As his conscience was so strong, and he could not handle the thought of someone being upset with him.”

Through tears, Hank said the last thing Nathan told him was “I love you’.

“Nathan, I’ll miss you forever,” he said.

Mernda Central College principal Jonathan Reedyk said he had known Mr Fitzgerald was a respected colleague, but was blown away by the stories he had heard about him since his death.

“When I asked the students what they’d remember most about Nathan, they talked about how they made him feel,” he said.

“He always had time for me; he listened; he made time for me; he made me feel important,” they told him.

Laughter echoed through the room when Mr Reedyk joked about the 27-year-old’s “oversized suits” and distinctive running style.

“You always knew when he was coming because there was only one person who ran quite like Nathan Fitzgerald,” he said.

Mr Reedyk said the beloved teacher was “never seemed too worried about looking silly”.

“If students were smiling and colleagues were laughing, if somebody else’s day was a little brighter, that was enough for him,” he said.

He said the school lost not only a teacher, but someone “who made our community better, simply by being in part of it”.

“Over the past week, I kept waiting for somebody to describe a different Nathan. The teacher, the colleague, the footballer, but no one ever did,” he said.

“Every story described exactly the same man. The man you knew at home was exactly the same man we knew at school.”

Mr Reedyk thanked Nathan’s parents, Gary and Barbara, for “sharing him with us”.

“We were privileged to know him, we are better because of him, and we will carry the very best of him forward,” he said.

In the days following his death, teammates and loved ones gathered at Epping Recreation Reserve for a memorial service for the late teacher.

Epping Football Netball Club president Luke De Vincentis remembered the 27-year-old for the “massive smile of his that lights up every room”.

“It’s fair to say it’s been a really shattering week; the boys, all the volunteers, all the staff at the club are heartbroken and feeling the loss,” he said.

“But I guess with tragedy comes unification and the club and the community has rallied beyond words.”