SAN DIEGO -- Family, friends and dignitaries bade final farewells Friday to 4th District Councilman Charles L. Lewis III, who died unexpectedly last weekend.

Slideshow

CHARLES LEWIS Images: Community Gathers At Councilman's Funeral Images: Charles Lewis 1966-2004 Video: Councilman Lewis Autopsy Results

More than 1,000 people attended a packed funeral service in Encanto at the Bayview Baptist Church, and at overflow locations at the nearby Martin Luther King Center and O'Farrell Community School.

The funeral was also broadcast on the city's cable channel to mourners who gathered downtown at Golden Hall.

"In all the world there was nobody like him," his mother Rosemary White-Pope said. "Well done my good, faithful, committed, loving son. You were special."

The 37-year-old councilman's coffin, escorted to the church by more than a dozen police motorcycle officers, was placed in front of the congregation draped by a U.S. flag.

Colleagues and loved ones then took turns remembering the soft-spoken councilman.

Former Councilman George Stevens, who Lewis served under as chief of staff before being elected to the City Council in 2002, described him as wise, knowledgeable and a person who never complained.

"Today this is not a wake," Stevens said. "This is not a mourning service. Far from being a funeral, Charles is on his way to glory -- not on his way to a cemetery."

Mayor Dick Murphy described Lewis as committed to the betterment of his community and the city as a whole.

"Charles dedicated his life to serving the people of our city," Murphy said. "Charles believed that his service to the community was a calling from God and he responded to that calling with dedication and passion."

"For five days our entire city has been in mourning," the mayor said. "We have suffered an incredibly painful loss."

Murphy vowed to help continue the work that Lewis began.

"We will not forget you and we will make sure that your legacy endures forever," he said.

Following the more than two-hour service, White-Pope and Lewis' wife, Carlette, were each presented with a flag. Lewis' body was then escorted out of the church and into a crowd of waiting police and firefighters.

He will be buried during a private ceremony Friday afternoon.

The Morse High School and San Diego State University graduate died Sunday at Kaiser Permanente San Diego Medical Center/Kaiser Foundation Hospital of internal bleeding.

His council tenure was marred in May 2003 when he was targeted in a federal bribery investigation, along with his colleagues, Michael Zucchet and Ralph Inzunza.

The councilmen were indicted last Aug. 28 on charges that they schemed to repeal an ordinance barring touching in strip clubs in exchange for money and favors. All three pleaded not guilty. No trial date has been set.

Lewis is survived by his wife; his mother; his father, Charles Lewis II; and his sister, Charis.

The councilman's staff established a memorial fund, with donations to go to a cause to be announced.

Checks can be made out to The Charles L. Lewis III Memorial Fund, Account 0983651946, Washington Mutual, 4415 Imperial Ave., Suite A, San Diego, Calif., 92113.