Duty Death: Joseph Zask - [Stony Point]
End of Service: 25/09/2021
By Kerri Hatt
STONY POINT, N.Y. — The Cornwall, N.Y. Office of Emergency Management has announced the death of Stony Point EMT Joseph (Joey) M. Zask. Zask was found unresponsive while working for Stony Point Ambulance Corps, where he also volunteered.
“Joey, affectionately known as ‘chicken wing,’ was disabled in his teenage years following a tragic accident which left him without use of one arm. He felt a calling to service before self, just as those had who rescued him on that fateful day,” the post read. “He joined COVAC in early 2020 to help our community out during the pandemic, contributing hundreds of hours of shift coverage as a driver of rig 325, their only ambulance equipped with a $60k power load stretcher system which permitted a reasonable accommodation for him to fulfill a dire role in the organization. Joey touched many lives in service to our community through his unfaltering energy and determination.”
Zask worked for Rockland Mobile Care and was a volunteer EMT in Orange and Rockland counties, Cornwall and Stony Point.
He is survived by family in Queens and Long Island. A GoFundMe has been created to help his family with funeral costs.
“Joe was the most loving, caring, warm hearted man you could have ever met. He volunteered on the ambulance more hours than I could ever count. He was a part of 2 agency’s currently; Stony Point and Cornwall. In his spare time he ran with the Road Revival Car Club, Tow Trucks for kids of NY, worked for Rockland Mobile Care as a dispatcher, had previously worked for Highway Tow in NYC, and FEMA. As well as so many more. During COVID he was the biggest asset for birthday drive by parades and meet ups. He always wanted to be a part of the bigger picture. Unfortunately and unexpectedly, yesterday we lost one the best people in our lives and all of the people he touched,” the GoFundMe organizer, Lia Papay, wrote.
The Stony Point Ambulance Corp. will be holding a memorial service on Sunday, October 3, at 6 p.m. at Stony Point Ambulance Headquarters. A post from the Piermont Fire Department noted “No dress cloths or uniforms are required for both the funeral services and memorial service as per the wishes of the family. Please wear comfortable clothing and a shirt that represents Joey Zask. (Fire, Ems, Law enforcement, Military or Towing shirts).”
https://www.facebook.com/StonyPointAmbulance/posts/4701425349914830?__tn__=%2CO*F https://www.facebook.com/cornwall.ambulance/posts/2038952772925420?__cft__[0]=AZXXWQ7aiqzLegUaf6hJIUGo0PN-Z1pVzkPsMQNPIRhj8WTSQGBnfucmZnK6JFmfIpBQIDzm3-bNzh2_zP5zNSU5ODEf_RqfDFdh8NqF-cL75oqU8aKuabbc2G5qnupY1cDB89eRgvFxscSb6eIpSptS&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R