Funeral held for Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe

BRAINTREE, Mass. — Beneath a huge American flag hung between two Braintree Fire Department ladder trucks, the family of Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe returned him to St. Francis of Assisi Church.

The Boston Police Gaelic Column of Pipes and Drums filled the air with a mournful cry and Boston Police Officers stood shoulder to shoulder as Officer O’Keefe’s casket was carried into the church.

Officer O’Keefe died after his body was found in a snowbank in Canton on January 29th.

O’Keefe’s girlfriend, Karen Read of Mansfield, is charged with Manslaughter.

“We desperately need answers. I hope the truth comes out,” said Vanessa Rizzitano, O’Keefe’s cousin. “We know bits and pieces, but I really hope at the end of the day especially for his parents and those children, we deserve to know the answers to what happened.

Officer O’Keefe grew up in Braintree.

At his funeral, family friend, who is now a priest, remembered O’Keefe’s competitive edge.

“If Braintree Youth Sports had a Hall of Fame, John O’Keefe would be a First Ballot Inductee,” Fr. James Cuddy, OP said in his homily.

Officer O’Keefe is also remembered for how he raised his niece and nephew after both his sister and her husband prematurely died in 2013.

O’Keefe’s brother, Paul, said in his eulogy that most people have nine months to prepare for parenthood, John only had a few days.

“John set a great example of what a good person could be. And he showed what determination looked like,” Paul O’Keefe said.

John O’Keefe was laid to rest at Blue Hill Cemetery in Braintree.

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