Thomas Fitzpatrick was born May 1, 1926, in Reynolds, Illinois, to Thomas J. and Agnes K. (Kelly) Fitzpatrick. He earned an A.B. in music education from St. Ambrose College, a B.S. in music performance from the Juilliard School of Music, an Artist Diploma from the Teatro Lirico Sperimentale in Rome, and an M. Mus. from Indiana University. From 1951-1952, he was on a Fulbright scholarship to study opera in Italy, eventually performing with the Rome Opera Company, where he debuted as Lieutenant B.F. Pinkerton, the lead male role in Puccini's "Madama Butterfly." He was an instructor at The Cosmopolitan School of Music in Chicago between 1956 and 1961, during which time he married Jeanne Hinkle (on August 9, 1958). He also taught at The University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point from 1961 to 1962 and at Indiana University from 1962 to 1963. In 1963, he joined the faculty at DePauw University School of Music as a vocal professor, retiring from that position in 1991. He passed away on September 10, 2009.