Trooper in iconic Rockwell painting remembered

NEW YORK (WHDH) -- The Massachusetts state trooper once featured in an iconic painting was honored over the weekend.

A funeral for staff sergeant Richard Clemens was held in New York. Massachusetts state police led the procession and troopers later carried his flag-draped coffin.

Clemens died last Sunday following a brief illness. He was 83-years-old.

Clemens served as the model for Norman Rockwell’s most famous painting "The Runaway."

He was the trooper sitting on a diner stool next to a young boy.

Rockwell also painted Clemens for a Christmas card for the state police.