Fallen EMT’s Family Asks For His Funeral to be a Celebration

Funeral arrangements for fallen Upper Township Rescue Squad member Mort Schmerling have been announced. But the family's not looking for a somber affair.

"The family is requesting this be a celebration of Mort, and as a nod to his colorful personality, you are requested to break from the normal funeral wear," Kim Durst Konefsky wrote about Schmerling's funeral on her Facebook page. The funeral is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon at the Platts Memorial Chapels on Haddonfield-Berlin Road in Cherry Hill.

His daughter, Rebecca Schmerling, said "We are just asking for bright colors, not the typical black attire." She described her father as "a man who spent his life helping others. He was a volunteer firefighter and an EMT. It's what kept him going. He met many great friends while working for different EMT squads. Most of all he was a family man. He loved getting all the family and friends together for barbecues and parties."

Mort Schmerling was responding to a medical emergency on April 13 in the Seaville section of Upper Township when he collapsed, according to a post on the Upper Township Rescue Squad’s Facebook page.

The family will receive visitors from noon to 1 p.m. followed by a funeral at 1 p.m. at the Platt Memorial Chapel in Cherry Hill. Daughter Rebecca will receive visitors at her Turnersville home at 6 p.m.

Toniann Antonelli contributed to this report.