COEUR d'ALENE - Wherever there was a gathering in Coeur d'Alene, you could expect to see Father George Rassley.

Whether a school play, a family meal, a parade or sporting event, the jovial Catholic priest would arrive, and often with camera in hand.

The joke around town, said The Rev. Harry Grile, was this: "George must be God, because he's omnipresent."

"George was a people person. He loved to be with people," Grile said.

Those people, around 500 of them, came to be with Rassley and say farewell during his funeral Thursday at St. Thomas Catholic Church.

"He could probably name all of us," Grile said, chuckling along with the crowd in the church.

Father Rassley died May 8 at St. Clement Health Care Center for the Redemptorists in Liguori, Mo. He was 83.

The pews of St. Thomas were packed with those whose lives were touched by the man who arrived in Coeur d'Alene more than 20 years ago. Seniors, middle agers, teens and toddlers bowed in silence, kneeled in prayer, and stood to sing during the hourlong service that celebrated the life of one of the Lake City's most beloved leaders of the Catholic faith.

With sunlight streaming through stained-glass windows, they spoke of "Rassleyisms," such as "Well, carry on," a phase he often used when concluding a conversation, or his penchant for cake.

They talked of his love for history, his passion for knowing people and remembering names, and his joy in visiting homes and calling congregation members just to chat.

And they talked of his drive and will to walk almost everywhere, despite poor circulation in his legs that left him in constant pain.

"He just never slowed down," said Polly Parisot, a St. Thomas member and nurse who sometimes looked after Rassley. "He really wanted to participate in the community."

The son of George and Katharine Rassley professed his vows as a Redemptorist in 1948 and was ordained a priest in 1953. He served the people of Coeur d'Alene for more than 20 years until 2010, when he moved to Liguori, Mo. While here, he conducted hundreds of Masses, baptisms, weddings and funerals.

Biron Larsen, a close friend, recalled a conversation with Rassley shortly before driving him to his new home on June 8, 2010.

"'Well Biron, this is my last time to see Coeur d'Alene, except when they bring me back when I die,'" Larsen said.

Rassley was buried at St. Thomas Cemetery.

His impact extended far beyond the walls of St. Thomas Catholic Church.

"He was a community builder. Not only in the community in the family of God, but everybody, everywhere, all walks of life. He was an open book, an open door," Larsen said.

Rassley, Larsen said, was a man of brevity who never talked about himself. He never complained about the pain of his legs he suffered with for more than 40 years. He made time to know people. He remembered details that might seem insignificant to others.

"He had a memory like an elephant, and a heart as big as an elephant. He was a big man, with a big heart," Larsen said.

Father Rassley, he said, wanted to make good use of the time the Lord gave him. He worked with the poor and said Mass at nursing homes, even when he could barely walk.

"He would struggle and work, he'd huff and he'd puff, he'd waddle, he would get there," Larsen said, smiling.

His kind words, his soft-spoken demeanor, his quiet chuckle, will not be forgotten. A tribute in the rear of the St. Thomas sanctuary featured pictures of Rassley, many of him wearing the traditional black cassock.

A beautiful wooden chair was impressed with his picture, next to the words, "Forever in our hearts."

On a table was a scrapbook with the title, "We've been blessed to know you Father Rassley."

And then, there was one of his treasured cameras.

"He was snapping pictures all the time," said Debra Goodwin of Otis Orchards, Wash.

Rassley, chaplain to the local Knights of Columbus and the Catholic Daughters of the Americas, was a wonderful priest who loved God, and shared that love with others, she said.

"On the day of his ordination, he said, 'I give my life back to you, God.' He gave every minute of every day," Goodwin said. "He was a good man. If anybody needed something, Father Rassley was there."

And he was there, in spirit and memory, on Thursday.

Grile said those who attended the service, would leave "richer, wiser, and I hope, more curious because of George."

Father George Rassley, he said, is likely smiling, exploring and most certainly, calling on friends and family in heaven.

"I suspect God has his hands full with George now," Grile said.