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So if a person — once “saved”, as you would put it,

I cannot take credit for what God Himself declared in inspired Scripture.

"Much more then, having now been justified by His blood,
we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.
"For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son,
much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life." "
Romans 5:9

Those who have received His gift via faith, were enemies of God.
Those who have received His gift via faith, will be saved from God's wrath on His enemies.
Those who have received His gift via faith, were reconciled to God through the death of Christ.
Those who have received His gift via faith, will be saved by Christ's Life! It is an amazing promise of God.

dies in final impenitence and defiance against God, he does not lose salvation but loses fellowship?

That believer who does not repent from sin before death is still a child of God that received the amazing gift of salvation and still has it. It is guaranteed, according the words of Christ and according to other passages in Scripture.
That person's salvation never depended on his efforts, nor good works.
He is no longer an enemy of God that will experience His wrath.
He is a son, who will be chastised and suffer loss in eternity, though as through fire.

What does he lose?

That person loses current fellowship with God throughout his life.
That person loses any rewards he could have had.
That person loses the peace of God in His daily life.
That person loses a life of blessing.
It is truly a loss and a terrible thing.

My dear aMPU, you have put a lot of effort into this dialogue, and I appreciate that. However, what you say about the finally impenitent soul of a person who *had been* a believer, still doesn't make sense to me.

You say "a believer who does not repent from sin before death is still a child of God that received the amazing gift of salvation and still has it."

And at the same time you say:

"He is a son, who will be chastised and suffer loss in eternity, though as through fire."

You said this is "in eternity".

So he experiences suffering "as through fire" in eternity, and as you remark, the result of his impenitence is "truly a loss and a terrible thing" --

Huh?

This person is "saved," yet experiences loss and suffering "as through fire" in eternity?

Sure doesn't sound like Heaven to me.