Billerica, Massachusetts police officer remembered at funeral a week after tragic death
BILLERICA - A funeral was held Friday morning for a fallen Massachusetts police officer.
Billerica Police Sgt. Ian Taylor died last Friday, April 26, after he was hit by an excavator while working at a traffic detail on Boston Road. He was 49 years old and would have turned 50 next week. Sgt. Taylor had been with the Billerica Police Department since 2011. Before that, he was a police officer in Lawrence and Wilmington. Taylor, a detective, leaves behind a wife and two children.
Hundreds of police officers paid their respects at a wake Thursday evening.
Police funeral procession
The funeral procession started Friday morning at the Cataudella Funeral Home on Route 113 in Methuen and ended at St. Patrick Parish on South Broadway in Lawrence.
The procession paused for a moment in front of the Lawrence Police Department, where Sgt. Taylor served for a dozen years before joining the Billerica Police Department. Once they arrived at the church, rows of police officers stood outside filling the street as Taylor's casket was carried inside.
"Zest for life"
One of Taylor's friends spoke at the funeral and recounted how Taylor once declined meeting him for drinks because he had to install an air conditioner for his daughter. "Kylee, just so you know, this summer, when that AC has to go back in that window, not only will you have your brother, you will have me, you will have your uncles, but you will have 300+ law enforcement agents, police officers, that will be more than happy to come and put that air conditioner in for Sgt. Ian Taylor's daughter."
After the funeral Mass, Taylor was laid to rest at Elmwood Cemetery in Methuen. Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey ordered flags at all state buildings to fly at half staff Friday in honor of Sgt. Taylor.
"Ian's love extended beyond his wife to his children, Kylee and Nate," said Taylor's friend. "He was not just their father but their hero. A mentor, a biggest supporter. He was so proud of Kylee becoming a nurse and Nate just graduated from his EMT and soon to become a firefighter. Ian's legacy as a father goes beyond the moments they shared. It lives on in the values he instilled in Kylee and Nate - integrity, kindness and a great zest for life."