Minnesota pastor dies after Sun Princess pool incident off Italy
Stephen Junker, 58, underwent emergency spinal surgery following the incident and later returned to the United States for treatment, according to his family.
Stephen Junker, a pastor at Chippewa Lutheran Church in Brandon, Minnesota, died Sept. 4 after being injured during a Sun Princess cruise in Italy, according to his family’s fundraiser and his obituary.
The family’s accounts provide differing dates for the incident, listing Aug. 11 in one description and Aug. 16 in another. They said Junker fell into the Princess Cruises-operated ship’s pool, nearly drowned and was found face down and unresponsive.
According to the fundraiser, the Italian Coast Guard transported Junker to a hospital in Naples, where he was admitted to intensive care and placed on a ventilator. His doctors told the family that he had severe spinal-cord compression at the C3–C4 level and needed emergency surgery. The family said doctors determined that he would be quadriplegic if he survived.
Junker’s family later flew him to the United States, where he was admitted to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, on Aug. 23 for further care. His obituary said he died at age 58.