About 100 people paid their last respects to Faron Hall Wednesday afternoon.
He was remembered as a humble man who would help anyone who needed it.
“To me a hero is somebody who drags a buddy off the battle field, at his own peril. Me, I’m just somebody who was there at the right time, with divine intervention,” he said in an interview five years ago.
Hall died about 10 days ago, in the same river he saved two people from five years ago.
His heroic deeds did not go unnoticed.
While many knew Hall as the “homeless hero” from Winnipeg, his family said he was a father, brother, uncle and nephew from the Dakota Nation hundreds of kilometers west of Winnipeg.
"One thing he always said is we are Dakotas,” Hall’s uncle Stewart Smoke said.
He said, even as a child, Hall had a good sense of humour and had a kind heart.
"You know what, he was really good…he was well liked - a lot of people knew him," Smoke added.
Still, Hall freely admitted he had problems. He battled addictions and was recently served time for assault.
But that's not how relatives said they will remember him.
"He was just an awesome person to be around. He always encouraged (you) to do better for yourself. Even (through) his circumstances, like he always looked on the brighter side of things," said niece Bobbi-Lynn Hall.
Numerous friends and family who attended his funeral agree and hope his memory will live on to remind people to be kind to all and help people when they need it.
In one of his final interviews, Hall said, "Thank you. God bless and let good spirits guide you. Thank you."
