Hundreds of residents of Cap-Aux-Meules, a small community in Iles-de-la-Madeleine, Que., gathered Saturday to remember three seal hunters who drowned at sea one week ago.
Bruno Bourque, Gilles Leblanc and Marc-Andre Deraspe drowned after the L'Acadien II capsized while being towed by the Sir William Alexander, a coast guard icebreaker.
A fourth man, Carl Aucoin, remains missing at sea.
On Saturday, the mourners packed into a church and watched as the three white hearses of Bourque, Leblanc and Deraspe were brought in.
Deraspe's casket was carried by his hockey teammates who wore jerseys with "Deraspe" written on the back.
During the two-hour service, the crowd listened as family and friends paid tributes to the three men.
An emotional moment occurred when Leblanc's granddaughter said a few words.
"Pepe (granddad), you haven't been gone for long but I already miss you,'' she said.
"You used to rock me in your arms, sing me songs and spoil me....give me gum and steal my cookies.
"You will always be my Pepe. I hope you'll be fine up there. Watch over me, be my star in the sky,'' she said, choking up. "I love you a lot.''
Leblanc was also remembered as a real leader by his sister, Carmen.
"In the name of my sisters and brothers, dear brother, since the death of our father, you were the captain of our family,'' she told the hushed crowd.
"The sea was your passion. Despite everything, you always defied the sea. You were a man of confidence and experience. There are no words to describe the kind of brother you were for me."
Amelie Noel, a cousin of 20-year-old Deraspe, remembered him as a major hockey fan and a hard-worker.
"He was the kind of exceptional son every parent dreams of having,'' Noel said. "He was always smiling and he never missed a chance to tell people he loved them.
"His happiness and his joie de vivre were contagious."
Bourque's daughter, Audrey, said her father was her "hero."
Two other men survived the disaster -- Claude Deraspe and Bruno-Pierre Bourque, the captain's son.
A patrol aircraft and two icebreakers searched for his Aucoin's body on Friday.
Searchers are also trying to locate the sunken, 12-metre trawler, which capsized after striking a piece of ice the size of a truck.
Canadian Forces divers will help in the vessel's recovery once it has been located.
The accident occurred about 70 kilometres north of Cape Breton, N.S. The Iles-de-la-Madeleine lie about 100 kilometres northwest of Cape Breton in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn announced that a retired rear admiral has been appointed to investigate the coast guard's role in the tragedy. Some have alleged that the William Alexander was going too fast and that no one was watching the trawler.
With files from The Canadian Press
