Funeral Director helps family find closure

Please enjoy this wonderful article about how our Funeral Director, Mark DeSimone, helped a family find closure by assisting to locate some stolen Service Medals. Stolen medals are replaced, given to late veteran’s sons Dave Canfield - dcanfield@poststar.com | Posted: Tuesday, April 10, 2012 11:49 pm GLENS FALLS -- Kevin Hopper was honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy on May 30, 1978, and awarded a pair of medals, one commemorating his combat service in the Vietnam War. When the Lake Luzerne man died unexpectedly a year ago, he was buried in Saratoga National Cemetery without them. Two new medals to replace the ones Hopper’s widow said were stolen decades ago were handed Tuesday to the couple’s sons, 7-year-old Austin and 12-year-old Paul. Their mother, Joanne Hopper, teared up as she stood beside them. She married Kevin Hopper 20 years ago. Procuring the awards was a year in the making. The process began when funeral director Mark DeSimone tried to obtain new medals as part of his services handling the arrangements for Regan & Denny Funeral Service. Unsuccessful dealings with various government offices led him to U.S. Rep. Chris Gibson. Gibson’s Glens Falls representative, George Christian, was finally able to secure new medals from the Department of Defense. Christian handed a Vietnam Service Medal and a National Defense Service Medal to the family Tuesday afternoon, along with Hopper’s discharge papers and copies of the Constitution. “It took a year,” Christian said, “but it’s something they can remember.” Christian said he handles requests for military awards and documents frequently. They have been lost, stolen or, in some cases, never awarded because of paperwork errors. Hopper, a native of Richfield Springs in Otsego County, was last stationed aboard the USS Portland. After his military career, he worked locally as a carpenter framing homes. “He was an artist in his own right,” said his widow, a painter. She said he initially was reluctant to discuss his experiences in Vietnam, but he began to open up on aimless car rides. “Eventually, we could sit and have coffee and talk about it,” she said. “It was living history.” The heart attack that killed him in April 2011 was sudden and unexpected. In addition to the two boys, the Hoppers have a daughter, Hannah, and Kevin Hopper has several children from a previous marriage. Joanne Hopper said she sought the medals for her sons’ sake, and she thanked DeSimone and Christian for their persistence. “It’s sad because somebody passed away,” DeSimone said. “But it’s a happy story because the kids have something to remember their dad by.” Read more