Body of US Capitol Officer William Evans returns to hometown
A joint services honor guard carries the flag-draped casket of U.S. Capitol Police officer William "Billy" Evans, to a catafalque where he will lie in honor at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, April 13, 2021.[Mandel Ngan/Pool via AP]
The body of U.S. Capitol Police Officer William Evans has been returned to his home in western Massachusetts for a funeral Mass and burial on Thursday.
The Mass at St. Stanislaus Kostka Church in Adams and burial at Bellevue Cemetery — where Evans will be buried beside his father, Howard — is private, but residents can pay their respects by gathering on Park Street in Adams at 1 p.m. for the funeral procession, according to a statement from the town.
Evans, 41, was raised in North Adams and Clarksburg and was a graduate of Drury High School and Western New England University in Springfield. He served with the U.S. Capitol Police since 2003.
He was killed this month when a driver struck him and another officer at a barricade outside the Senate.
Evans lay in honor Wednesday in the Capitol Rotunda, where President Joe Biden in a eulogy said he was “defined by his dignity, his decency, his loyalty and his courage.”
Survivors include his children, Logan, 9, and Abigail, 7; their mother, Shannon Terranova; his mother, Janice; and his sister, Julie Kucyn.
Hundreds of people lined the streets Wednesday night as a hearse carrying Evans made its way to the funeral home, escorted by officers from several area departments, The Berkshire Eagle reported.
“It’s the way of the city," North Adams Mayor Tom Bernard said. “We show up, we fold the arms around people when they’re in need, we come together when it counts. This is a night that counts.”