Obituary of Royer F. Pfersick

Royer Francis Pfersick was born in New Rochelle on June 21, 1949 and departed this life on March 24, 2025 at the age of 75. He was predeceased by his parents (Rosemary and Conrad), his first wife (Florence) and his son, Elijah.

Royer is survived by his loving wife of 23 ½ years, Diana: sisters; Josette (David), Danielle, Lucette (James), Lorraine (Angel), Maria (Dennis), and brothers Mitchell (Jodi), and Paul. His daughters; Dawn and Eve (David), grandchildren; Sarah, David, Daniel, Elijah, Jr., and Aaliyah; stepdaughters, Amy and Lisa (Francis), grandchildren; Abigail, Isabella, Karra, Montgomery; and many cousins, nieces, nephews, family, and many, many friends.

Royer loved the fire and emergency services and dedicated himself to helping others. Growing up he dreamed of being in the fire service. At age 17 he joined the Pelham Fire Department where he started his career in the volunteer fire service. It fully ignited the spark in him which led him to serve in a few more departments before joining Storm King Engine Company No. 2 (SKE) in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York where he is a Life Member. At the same time, he was a member of Cornwall Volunteer Ambulance Corps (COVAC). While serving as chief officer at COVAC, Royer recognized responses to calls could be improved if the fire service could first respond to medical emergencies. Storm King's Chief Trainor said that Royer was instrumental in establishing their program to first respond to EMS calls back in 1996.

Royer loved attending seminars and conferences to add to his knowledge base of fire and EMS. It was at an EMS Seminar at the New York State Fire Academy where he met his wife, Diana, in 1999. For two years, Royer and Diana would travel 300 miles each way to visit each other and 2 years later at that same seminar, they became engaged and were married the following August.

After moving to Rush in 2001, Royer joined the Rush Volunteer Fire Department where he was active for over 20 years. He also was a member of the Honeoye Falls Mendon Volunteer Ambulance for several years where he received the "Educator Award" from them in 2004.

Royer had many jobs as he grew in life including jobs as a waiter, an iron worker, a commercial diver, a cable man, and eventually a respiratory therapist splitting time between three hospitals. He continued as a respiratory therapist until he became employed by the City of New York as an Emergency Medical Technician. In March 1996, FDNY (New York City Fire Department) took over the New York City Emergency Medical Service, so FDNY then became his employer. He was assigned to the Harlem unit where he became known as "Grandpa" - an acquired nickname due to his delivery of 72 babies in the field during his career. He loved the job but eventually retired in December of 2000 because the demands of the job were taking a toll on his health. Even though retired, he was one of the many retired EMT's called back on September 11, 2001 after the attack on the Twin Towers. He arrived at ground zero around 4 PM and spent the next 10 days assisting in numerous roles from searching to accountability. During his time with FDNY, Royer was the recipient of many commendations.

Royer was a member of many Fire and EMS organizations, including the Firefighters Association of the State of New York, Northern Central New York Volunteer Firefighters Association, Western New York Volunteer Firefighters Association, Monroe County Volunteer Firefighters Association where he was a past President and Chaplain. Royer was also a memer of the Monroe County Volunteer Fire Police Association, the Fire Police Association of the State of New York and the New York State Chaplains Association. 

Royer had many personal interests including diving in his earlier years, fishing, old movies, history, sharing life experiences, and his grandchildren. He very much loved his family and friends, and he wasn't shy to say so.

Friends may call at the Merton H. Kays Funeral Home, Inc. at 59 Monroe Street, Honeoye Falls, New York on Sunday, April 6 from 1 to 3 PM. A service will follow the calling hours at the funeral home. For directions or to leave a message of condolence, please visit www.mertonkaysfunerlhome.com A reception to follow at the Rush Volunteer Fire Department that all are welcome to. Directions to there will be available at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to the Rush Volunteer Fire Department at 1971 Rush Mendon Road, Rush, NY 14543; or to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation https://t2t.org/ ; or to a Volunteer Fire Department of your choosing.

A "celebration of life" picnic will be held on June 21, 2025 at the Rush Volunteer Fire Department pavilion, 1971 Rush-Mendon Road in Rush, NY at 1 PM. If planning on attending the celebration, please email Diana Pfersick at dpfersick@yahoo.com