WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES DECEMBER 10, 2020 31
COPING WITH DEATH
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-of-kin, the telephone
number of your funeral director
and stating whether any funeral prearrangements
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 offi ce and police
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 identifi cation
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 Aff airs 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 Aff airs 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
Lasting impressions
are our first priority.
A funeral service represents a family’s
final farewell to their loved one. Knowing this,
we go beyond what is expected to ensure
the ceremony is beautiful and memorable...
a truly fitting tribute to that special life.
We invite you to visit us to meet our staff
and tour our facility. We think you’ll be
pleased to find that making lasting impressions
is our first priority.
MORTON FUNERAL HOME /
RIDGEWOOD CHAPELS
Continuing a proud tradition of dignified, personal service.
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Village Chapels, Inc.
67-67 Eliot Avenue
Middle Village, NY 11379
718-458-3000
Funeral Directors
John DiMario,
George H. Luhrin
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