By Bill Forry and David Benoit
Reporter Staff

In an extraordinary display of respect for a fallen son, the bustling center of Dorchester came to a near standstill for 24 hours as legions of law enforcement personnel, friends and family closed ranks to pay final respects to Paul Barry, a state trooper, father and husband who died tragically last week on a state highway. Barry's Tuesday morning funeral transformed a four block stretch of Dorchester Avenue into a solemn parade ground for more than a thousand police officers who assembled in full regalia under a blistering sun in front of St. Mark's Church, where Barry was waked and eulogized over two days.

Barry, a six-year veteran of the State Police, was killed early last Thursday morning when his marked cruiser drifted into the breakdown lane of Interstate 495 and struck a parked dump truck, according to the Associated Press. The 39-year-old father of seven children, died from injuries in the crash, which occurred before sunrise in Wrentham.

Barry had called Dorchester home for most of his life, until he moved with his young family to Franklin two years ago to be closer to his assigned post in Devens, Mass. A graduate of St. Mark's Grammar School's class of 1980, Barry was waked from the Dorchester Ave. church where he was baptized and schooled as a youngster, growing up just a block away on Florida Street.

The funeral prompted road closures on Monday and Tuesday, as hundreds of law enforcement officers, friends and family poured into the St. Mark's area. Hundreds of police personnel were transported to a staging area on Welles Ave. on Tuesday morning. Electronic signs on the buses used to transport the police read, "Rest in Peace." Scores of Barry's friends and neighbors looked on from across the avenue Tuesday morning as a phalanx of state troopers and assorted police from across New England and the country took up position along Dorchester Ave.

"They were customers at my wife's store- his parents, and him," said Paul Ramos, who watched the event in front of his family's dry cleaning store. "They are very nice people, really family orientated and polite. We'll miss him, that's about all.

"He would come in some times with one of the kids, he was always very nice and polite," Ramos said.

Samoset Street resident Antonio Depina said he was moved by the whole experience, even though he did not know the Barrys.

"I feel sorry for the family. It's an interesting show of respect. I saw the widow going into the church with two troopers. I saw the little kids and I cried."

"This doesn't happen- please, God- too often," said Welles Avenue resident Jean McAndrews, who said she knew Paul Barry and his family as longtime congregants at St. Mark's church. McAndrews shook her head at reports that some were heard on talk radio complaining about the funeral's impact on local traffic.

"How long was it, really?" she said, agreeing with Diane Ha, the owner of T & T Nail Design. Ha said that she definitely lost business over the two days, but could not understand how anyone could complain given the circumstances.

"You have to understand what this family is going through," Ha said. "I have no business, but I am not complaining."

Nearby, another neighbor- who identified himself only as "Jim"- said that Dorchester people, in particular, were proud of men like Barry, who wear the uniform and put themselves in harm's way.

"Do you have any idea how many troopers come out of this neighborhood," he asked. "Give me a break. Under the circumstances, with his wife and kids? And his parents have been here for a lifetime."

Eddie Proctor, a classmate of Barry's at both St. Mark's and Archbishop Williams High School, remembered him as an "unassuming, great guy" who was a "a nice, honest, easy-going kid."

"Dorchester's definitely lost one of its favorite sons," said Proctor.

State Police Col. Mark Delaney said the preliminary investigation showed Barry was driving north on I-495 when his cruiser drifted into the breakdown lane, hitting an unoccupied truck. Delaney did not say what caused Barry's cruiser to drift out of the travel lane.

Barry was returning home to Franklin, Mass. After working a detail in Boston, according to published reports. Barry and his wife MaryEllen moved to Franklin two years ago with their seven children to be closer to his assignment at the State Police fleet department at Devens, where he assisted in disbursing cruisers and training troopers.

Following Tuesday's funeral Mass, Barry was buried at Cedar Grove Cemetery.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this article.