Retired NYPD officer collapses, dies shoveling snow for churchgoers during devastating Northeast winter storm

January 27, 2026

Retired NYPD sergeant Roger McGovern, 60, reportedly died of heart attack while shoveling snow at his Long Island church preparing for Sunday mass.

A New York community is mourning the death of a retired NYPD officer who died after reportedly suffering a heart attack while shoveling snow during last weekend’s major winter storm.

Roger McGovern, a 60-year-old retired NYPD sergeant, collapsed while shoveling at Our Lady of Victory Church in Floral Park, Long Island on Sunday, at church and he had a seizure [and] by the time he got to the hospital, he passed," friend Kevin Troy told the outlet.

McGovern had walked a mile in the bitter cold to clear pathways for parishioners to attend Sunday mass at the same church where he served as an usher and member of the Knights of Columbus, New York City officials reporting eight deaths stemming from the cold temperatures that resulted in 8 to 15 inches of snow in some neighborhoods, the Northeast over the weekend.