Mark Curtis, 64, identified as man found dead in Deer Park snow last week

Suffolk police on Monday identified the man found buried in the snow outside a Deer Park housing complex last week as one of the complex's residents.

Mark Curtis, 64, was the man found by workers shoveling snow and pronounced dead by officers, the Suffolk County Police Department said in a news release.

The cause of Curtis’ death has not been determined, police added.

Workers found Curtis around 3:45 p.m. on Feb. 23 near one of the complex’s walkways, Newsday reported last week. Police previously said the cause of his death would be determined through an autopsy at the Office of the Suffolk County Medical Examiner in Hauppauge. Police don't believe the cause to have been criminal.

Police did not say whether Curtis' death was related to last week's blizzard. Shoveling the snowfall led to the deaths of three Nassau County residents and another two in Suffolk, Newsday previously reported.

An online fundraiser started to help Curtis' family cover his funeral expenses identified him having served as a U.S. Army sergeant. The fundraiser organizer describes him as a "loving" brother and an uncle who "was always willing to lend a hand to anyone who needed it."

Curtis' older sister, Paula Cella, told Newsday late Monday he joined the Army soon after attending John Adams High School in Ozone Park. The pair grew up together in Howard Beach.

Curtis moved to Long Island after his service as "a proud veteran" overseas during the late 70s and early 80s, which included time spent in Germany and other countries, Cella, 69, said. Her brother worked for many years at various Home Depot locations, including as a manager who helped open new stores.

"If I ever asked him to do anything," Cella added, "he would have done it in a minute."

Curtis was visiting her often in the weeks ahead of his death, and she wished he stayed put during the storm.

"My last words to him were 'if you go home, you can't come back' because I knew they were going to be closing the roads," Cella recalled of the morning before the blizzard. "The next day I texted him and asked 'how many inches did you get?'"

After Curtis failed to reply, and after she heard reports of a man found dead at his complex, she said: "I immediately knew it was my brother."

"He shouldn't be dead," Cella added. "It wasn’t his time."

Funeral arrangement had not been been completed for Curtis on Monday, his sister said.