‘Deeply Brokenhearted’: Friends Remember Long Island Man Who Died Shoveling Snow

FLORAL PARK, NY. — “Before you leave today, everyone’s having a Bud.”

That was the directive given to every person who entered Floral Park Knights of Columbus Council #2345 Monday, as friends of Roger McGovern packed into the meeting hall to honor the man who died tragically Sunday.

One by one, the crowd walked in, wiped snow off their feet and began shaking hands, greeting old friends, and reminiscing about times spent with Roger. Those who knew him spoke of all sorts of time spent with their friend, a loving husband and father of three who had spent a decade on the board of Council 2345.

For some, it was multifamily camping trips out in Montauk with their spouses and kids. For others, it was the kindness Roger showed to their friend Jimmy, who was left using a wheelchair after a tragic car accident. On Sundays in the fall, Roger drove Jimmy to a bar or a friend’s house to watch football together. He was a diehard Jets, Mets and Rangers fan, attending annual group outings to the Mets’ home opener for almost 30 years.

The retired NYPD sergeant was also a competitive athlete; he traveled to Ireland to compete in the triathlon at the Police and Fire Games, competed in the Mohonk Preserve’s “Rock the Ridge” 50-mile ultra marathon twice, and went on multiple biking trips with his friends.

Most of all, Roger’s friends remembered him as a man who was always helping others.

“This Knights of Columbus [council] is a great organization of men who serve the community,” Bob Todaro said. “But if you asked everyone in here, who in this council most exemplified that service, what this organization stands for, they’d say Roger. Every one, to a man.”

Todaro met Roger through the Knights, as did many of the people in attendance Monday afternoon. Among them was Tom Gill, a friend who recounted the way Roger could light up a room just by stepping into it.

“He was the kind of guy, every time he walked into a room, you were so happy to see him. He was like Norm [from the sitcom ‘Cheers’]. It got to the point where, every time he walked in here, he’d look at everyone and say, ‘remain seated!’” Gill said. “I actually saw him here Saturday night, and I beat him to it. He walked in, and I said, ‘everybody remain seated!’”

Other faces in the crowd, like Steve and Craig Pitz, had known Roger for a little longer. The brothers grew up with him in Queens Village. Craig went to grammar school with Roger, meeting in 1974 and becoming friends. Steve, on the other hand, said Roger was one of the first customers he had when he started running a bar in 1987. The duo said they were originally involved with another Knights of Columbus council, but kept winding up at the Floral Park location to see an old friend.

“We kept coming here because of Roger,” Craig said. “He was always doing the right thing, never had any hate in his heart.”

For Liam, a friend of Roger’s who met him when their daughters were in school at the same time, it was impossible to overstate what McGovern had meant to those around him.

Pointing at the Pitz brothers, Liam said, “Everything those guys said, times ten. That’s how good a guy he was. I’m sure you’re hearing that a lot today.”

“If you ever needed any help, with anything, he was already behind you as soon as you needed it,” Liam said. “Even this weekend, he was just doing his last act of kindness. He wanted to shovel that sidewalk so the elderly [parishioners] could get into church, and unfortunately he didn’t make it.”

In a Facebook post Sunday, McGovern's cousin, Brendan, said Roger had suffered a heart attack.

"He was on his way out to shovel and clear paths so others could safely get to church, a quiet act of service that speaks volumes about the kind of person he was," Brendan said.

As the afternoon carried on, the people who knew Roger McGovern spoke their own volumes about the kind of person Roger was.

"We're all deeply brokenhearted, but his legacy will carry on in each and every one of us," Todaro said.

“He just had this way about him,” Jim Fekert said. Fekert said his eldest daughter was in the same school year as one of McGovern’s girls, and marveled at the way McGovern navigated the challenges of fatherhood. “As a father, you know other parents have the same worries, the same concerns you have, but he just handled them so much better.”

McGovern is survived by his wife, Finola, and their three daughters, Ailish, Leah, and Dara, "all of whom were the pride of his life," Brendan said on Facebook. Details about his funeral arrangements are still being finalized, but a wake will take place at Thomas F. Dalton Funeral Home in Floral Park, with a mass to follow at Our Lady of Victory.

When the time came to drink a ceremonial toast to McGovern, Rick Guidal, known within the walls of the Floral Park Council as “Ricky G,” took the lead.

“To our friend, Roger,” Guidal said. “He was better than all of us.”

As his friends all took sips of their Budweisers, a few of them got reacquainted with its taste. Some of the people in attendance said they hadn’t had a Budweiser in 25 years, always reaching for something else instead. Even Roger, who "loved his Budweiser," hadn’t been able to drink for a few months prior to his death, on account of a change in medication. As the taste became familiar again, someone made an observation.

“The Bud has been skunky for the last few weeks, because he hasn’t been drinking it,” Liam said.