PITTSFIELD — Nearly 65 years after her father, North Adams police Officer George Angeli, was killed by a drunk driver, Claire Angeli honored his memory by lighting a candle for him.

A candlelight vigil of remembrance and hope took place Sunday at St. Stephen’s Church in Pittsfield, organized by the Berkshire District Attorney's Office and Massachusetts State Police.

The ceremony included remarks, readings and a cappella renditions of “In the Bleak Midwinter,” “Light in the Hallway,” and “Oh, Holy Night,” by the Grace Notes of Miss Hall’s School.

A memory board and Christmas ornaments at the Berkshire District Attorney’s Office's annual vigil Sunday to remember those who have died due to a drunk driver at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Pittsfield.

“He was asked to take a shift because a colleague wanted to go on vacation a day early with his family,” Angeli recalled of her father’s last day alive. “So my dad took his shift and was killed down on Curran Highway at night.”

He was 34, and Claire Angeli was 5; it took a while for her to understand what happened.

“It was awful,” she recalled. “My brothers and I always say we don’t dwell, but we never forget. It was pretty difficult. Three kids under 6 years old.”

About 20 of the 56 victims had family or friends light electric candles in their memory; for those with no one present, a uniformed detective lieutenant performed the honor.

Cameron Connally, 27, of Adams, who died in Savoy on May 30, 2024, may have been Berkshire County’s latest victim. His name wasn’t included on the list because the driver’s case has not yet been adjudicated. It’s scheduled for May.

Berkshire District Attorney Timothy J. Shugrue speaks during an annual vigil Sunday to remember those who have died due to a drunk driver at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Pittsfield.

District Attorney Timothy Shugrue, who had surgery Friday — and whose stepdaughter Jordan Elizabeth LaBarre was slain in July — said he wouldn’t miss this commemoration.

During formal remarks, though, his voice broke with emotion.

“Losing a loved one is difficult,” he said. “Losing a loved one unexpectedly and too soon is also insurmountable. Sitting in this church today, we are tied in a common thread, the loss of a loved one caused by a drunk driver.”

Shugrue said there have been no drunken driving fatalities in Berkshire County in 2025. But he also cited a national statistic from 2023, which showed that there was a drunken driving fatality on average once every 42 minutes across the country.

Miss Hall's School's Grace Notes sing at the Berkshire District Attorney’s Office's annual vigil Sunday to remember those who have died due to a drunk driver at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Pittsfield.

That year, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, 12,429 people died as a result of alcohol-impaired drivers.

Noting that the number of such preventable fatalities has been dropping in recent years, “I think a lot of it has to do with education,” Shugrue told The Eagle. “I think people are smarter about that. I think bars are smarter about that. They tend not to overserve. I think people have a tendency, if they’re going to drink, they won’t drink out. I think we’re seeing society sort of accept that.”

Shugrue said he is now concerned about drivers under the influence of marijuana, which is far more difficult to prove in court.

“We don’t have a device that tests like we do for Breathalyzer,” Shugrue said. “You just can’t smell it or see it, because some people take gummies. You really can’t tell. It’s a battle that we’re trying to wage and get ahead of.”

Brian Berkel, a retired Massachusetts State Police lieutenant, who read the names, stepped away to light candles for two people he knew: Richard Soucy and WBRK DJ Daron Reynolds, who was killed in April 2017. Berkel mentored Reynolds through Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.

Lindsey Ferrell, 16, of Dalton, was killed March 2, 2002. Her parents, Mary and Roger Ferrell, attended the vigil and have established a scholarship in her name at Wahconah Regional High School, where she was a student. Mary Ferrell also speaks at the Craneville Elementary School DARE graduation ceremony each year.

Family members place a votive at the Berkshire District Attorney’s Office's annual vigil Sunday to remember those who have died due to a drunk driver at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Pittsfield.

Joshua Cote, of North Adams, came with his wife and children to honor his late mother, Lisa Cooney, 42, of Adams, who died in 2006 in New Ashford.

“Her smile,” Cote recalled. “She brought the family together. She was always family-oriented, all the Thanksgivings, big holidays, everybody would come over to our house, even Fourth of July or St. Patrick’s Day, she’d have little gatherings.”

Scott Michael Steinman, 24, was the oldest of eight siblings. He was killed in a crash on Crane Avenue in 1985. Three of his siblings attended the vigil and together walked up the central aisle to light a candle for him.

A detective lieutenant of the Berkshire District Attorney's Office State Police Detective Unit stands by as a family member places a votive candle at Sunday's annual vigil to remember those who have died due to a drunk driver.

Deane Steinman was 10 at the time and said his oldest brother was a model to him and the rest of his brothers and sisters.

“His sense of humor, his generosity, his love of life,” he said. “We all had to rally around together, and, you know what I mean, kind of deal with it, but in our own way.”

The youngest sister, Hollie Kirchner, was 5 at the time.

“At 5, apparently I was his favorite,” she said. “He was always around and playing with his little siblings at the house. Often I remember going on his shoulders.”

John Dufour traveled with his son from Warren, Maine, to light a candle for his daughter, Erin Dufour, 29, who died in a head-on crash in Sandisfield in 2009.

“We do it for her,” he said.