How to handle a death that occurs away from home
Whether you’re a snowbird
going to a warmer
climate to escape
winter weather or
you’re traveling on a business
trip, it’s wise to prepare for
the unexpected.
Accidents happen. People
fall victim to new or existing
medical conditions. Death
is always an overwhelming
event, especially so when
it occurs away from home.
That’s why it is wise to carry
a wallet-sized card listing
the names of your next-ofkin,
the telephone number
of your funeral director and
stating whether any funeral
pre-arrangements have been
made. Most travelers wouldn’t
dream of leaving home on an
extended trip without carrying
along copies of prescriptions,
yet how many think to
include personal information
that would facilitate their final
arrangements if the unthinkable
happens?
Robert Ruggiero, a licensed
New York City funeral director,
offers these suggestions
to help cope with death away
from home.
Don’t leave the body. The
most frequent response by
family members experiencing
a death away from home is to
hurry home to begin funeral
arrangements.
However, most deaths that
occur while traveling are
sudden and require an investigation
by the local medical
examiner’s office and police
TIMESLEDGER |22 QNS.COM | JULY 3-JULY 9, 2020
department.
The family member traveling
with the person who remains
available to the authorities
at the place of death will
expedite the return process.
If a person has died and
family is not with the deceased,
survivors should not
fly out to the place of death.
With today’s technology,
there’s a good possibility that
if identification is required,
survivors can save time by
staying home and requesting
another means to accomplish
the necessary procedures.
Appoint your hometown
funeral director as the “point
person.” Allow him or her to
select the means of returning
your loved one home. Your
family funeral director is
familiar with the necessary
procedures to ease the process
for you.
If the death occurs overseas,
the U.S. State Department’s
Bureau of Consular
Affairs in Washington, DC
(202-647-5225) or the local Embassy
can provide emergency
assistance for Americans traveling
overseas who encounter
a tragedy of this nature.
For more information visit
the Bureau of Consular Affairs
website, https://travel.
state.gov/content/passports/
en/abroad/events-and-records/
death.html
Any expense will ultimately
be the responsibility of the
bereaved family but because
of the State Department’s intervention,
there may be no
immediate upfront expense in
most cases.
For more information, you
might want to call your family
funeral director before leaving
home.
Courtesy of NYS Funeral
Directors Association
John L. Loehr, 83, of Essex, Connecticut, died surrounded by family on
Wednesday, June 17, 2020 after a long and valiant battle with Parkinson’s disease.
Jack (as his close friends and family called him) was known for his great wisdom, wit,
patience, generosity, and humility. He will be dearly missed by all who knew him.
Jack was intellectually curious and an avid reader; he leaves behind a sizable library
of well over 2,000 books. In addition to his love of family and books, Jack was partial
to dogs. He was especially fond of his Golden Retriever, Bisquit, who was his beloved
companion for many years. He was also a doting “grandfather” to Magnus, the
endearingly exuberant Bull Mastiff. They spent many hours walking the parks in Rye
Brook, New York, where Jack spent most of his retirement. Born in Yonkers on
November 12th, 1936 to John and Marie Loehr, Jack grew up in Bayside, Queens. He
graduated as valedictorian of Bayside High School in 1954 and then from Fordham
University in 1958. A member of the National Guard, he trained at Fort Dix in New
Jersey in the early 1960’s. After graduating from Columbia Law School in 1961, he
joined the Manhattan law firm Wien, Malkin, and Bettex. There, he negotiated leases
for corporate real estate, including the Empire State Building; he became a partner in
1970, and was loyal to the firm for his entire career. In 1971, he married Karin Skavo,
and they made their home in River Vale, NJ, where they raised a loving family of four
children. He is survived by his wife: Karin Loehr; his children: Christine and her
husband Matthew Kagan, Jacqueline and her husband Stephen Carroll, his son John Loehr, and his daughter Annalise
Loehr; his six grandchildren: Alex, Ella, and Kallie Kagan, as well as Kirsten, Sophia, and Stevie Carroll; and his four siblings:
Paul Loehr, Robert Loehr, Rose Gallo, and Barbara O’Connor. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made in
Jack’s name to The Michael J. Fox Foundation, P.O. Box 5014, Hagerstown, MD 21741-5014 or to The Valley Shore Animal
Welfare League, 647 Horse Hill Road, Westbrook, CT 06498 To share a memory of Jack or send a condolence to his family
please visit: www.rwwfh.com. Privately held funeral services are in the care of the Robinson, Wright & Weymer Funeral
Home, in Centerbrook, Connecticut.
Essex, Connecticut and Bayside, Queens, New York
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