Dignitaries including U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Gov. David Ige and Hawaii House Speaker Joseph Souki shared fond memories of U.S. Rep. Mark Takai, his intense work ethic, his love of his family and his dedication to public service.

“Mark gave us a shining example of what it means to be a responsible public servant, a caring neighbor, a loving husband, a protective father and a decent human being,” said Souki.

Family, friends and colleagues gathered at the state Capitol on Thursday morning for a remembrance ceremony for Takai. Takai died in Honolulu on July 20 at the age of 49 after a nine-month battle with pancreatic cancer.

His casket, wrapped in an American flag, was escorted by members of the Hawaii National Guard into the Capitol courtyard, where state Rep. Sylvia Luke led an hourlong ceremony.

Former colleagues from Washington, D.C., members of the state Legislature, island mayors and numerous statesmen, including former Govs. Neil Abercrombie, Ben Cayetano and John Waihee, filled the chairs set up for the ceremony, while others stood along the perimeter of the courtyard or looked down from the balconies of the upper floors.

Takai’s family — including his wife, Sami; teenage children, Matthew and Kaila; and parents — filled the front row seats.

Ige recalled Takai’s tenacious dedication to the University of Hawaii, public education, veterans, and children and families.

He also mused about the parallel tracks that he and Takai, who was 10 years his junior, had taken throughout their lives. They both graduated from Pearl City High School, met their wives at UH and represented District 34 in the state House of Representatives.

“When Mark decided to name his first-born son Matthew, just as I had named my first-born son Matthew, I had to sit Mark down and say, ‘You know, Mark, I think you need to find your own path in life,’” Ige joked.

He called serving in the state Legislature with Takai “a dream.”

“It was difficult for me to accept that Mark is no longer with us,” said Ige. “I’ve truly lost a good friend and colleague.”

Pelosi presented the Takai family with the American flag that flew above the U.S. Capitol on the day Takai died.

“It is my solemn privilege today to give voice to the sorrow of the United States Congress in the passing of our colleague and our friend Congressman Mark Takai,” she said.

“He was in Congress just 18 months, but he accomplished so much,” she said. “He was a man in a hurry. He made use of his time in a very special way.”

Takai lay in State in the Capitol courtyard, a rare honor, until 7 p.m. Thursday. Members of the public were invited to pay their final respects.

Takai was elected to the state House at the age of 27, and he served there for 20 years. In 2014 he won a seat in Congress, representing urban Oahu, and served on the House Armed Forces Committee and the House Committee on Small Business.

A champion of veterans issues, he also served in the Hawaii National Guard for 17 years and deployed to the Middle East as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2009.

Former U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa overwhelmingly won the Democratic primary last weekend in the race to fill Takai’s seat. Takai had endorsed Hanabusa as his replacement earlier this year. Hanabusa had formerly occupied the U.S. House seat until 2014, when she stepped down to run an ultimately unsuccessful campaign against U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz.

There will be a family memorial service for Takai today at the First Presbyterian Church of Honolulu at Koolau in Kaneohe. Visitation will begin at 9 a.m., and the service will begin at 11 a.m. Attendees are asked to wear aloha attire, in keeping with the late congressman’s tradition of celebrating Aloha Friday.