By Paul Leighton
BEVERLY — Police are preparing for thousands of people, including such dignitaries as Gov. Deval Patrick and U.S. Sen. John Kerry, to turn out today and tomorrow to pay their respects to Army Spc. Stephen Fortunato.
The wake will be held today from 3 to 8 p.m. inside the Beverly High School field house to accommodate the expected large crowds.
Tomorrow, downtown Cabot Street will be closed to vehicles for the 11 a.m. funeral at St. Mary Star of the Sea Church.
Patrick and Kerry will attend the funeral, according to their offices.
In order to avoid overcrowding in the downtown tomorrow, police are encouraging people to line the three-mile route of the funeral procession. The public should not go to the Campbell, Lee, Russell, Moody Funeral Home, which will be open only to Fortunato's immediate family and military members involved in the procession.
"We strongly encourage people who want to pay their respects to Stephen and his family to be aware that it's a long route and they'll be able to get a clear view away from the downtown area," Capt. Alan Petersen said.
The funeral procession will begin at 10 a.m. at the Campbell Funeral Home and proceed down Cabot Street to St. Mary's Church. Fortunato's casket will be carried by a horse-drawn caisson, and the Peabody firefighters bagpipe band will play.
Police said they will post no-parking signs on the section of Cabot Street between Pond Street and Hale Street and will tow any violators in order to clear the way for the procession.
St. Mary's Church can hold 700 to 800 people, according to the pastor, the Rev. David Barnes. Anyone who wants to attend the Mass should get there "mighty early," he said.
Barnes said he expects the Mass to last until about 12:15 p.m. The procession will then head down Essex Street to Brimbal Avenue on the way to St. Mary's Cemetery. Honor guards will be invited to join the procession from the church to the cemetery. Jerry Guilebbe, the city's veterans' agent, said he expects several veterans groups to send honor guards.
The procession from the church to the cemetery is expected to take an hour to an hour and a half, Petersen said. A large American flag will be draped over two 70-foot-high ladder trucks at the entrance to the cemetery on Brimbal Avenue.
Today, high school students will be dismissed early, at 1:10 p.m., and night activities at the school have been canceled to accommodate Fortunato's wake in the field house. High school students who want to attend the funeral tomorrow will be allowed an excused absence, Principal Sean Gallagher said.
"We really want to focus on Stephen Fortunato to provide the memorial services and do the best we can for the family," Gallagher said.
Police are encouraging people to carpool to the wake. Vehicles must enter the parking lot via Sohier Road and exit via Herrick Street.
Members of the Beverly High School Marine Corps Junior ROTC program will be on hand to direct people inside the field house. People will enter via a door next to the outdoor basketball court.
Guilebbe, the veterans' agent, said he would like to see people hold American flags as they line the route of the funeral procession.
