26-year-old David Yang was shot and killed two weeks ago in the Northern California city of Chico.
Police say the youth pastor was the random target of a drunken killer.
David Yang was well known in Fresno's Hmong community. Hundreds showed up to honor him Sunday night.
His family says it's rare in the Hmong community for a large crowd to come together for someone as young as Yang.
Nearly 500 people gathered at the Hmong Memorial Chapel in Central Fresno on Sunday to remember Yang.
"David was just an awesome person, always happy," Yang's friend Daniel Board said. "He had a crazy high-pitched laugh."
Yang's family shared home movies during his funeral, along with a large display of smiling pictures.
"Everybody loved him because he smiled all the time," Jackson Cha, another friend of Yang, said. "He would give you the biggest hugs, it wasn't a passing by hug. He would give you a hug and you knew he cared about you."
Yang grew up in Fresno, where he attended Duncan and Sunnyside High Schools. He moved up to Chico for college a few years ago.
On September 21, Yang was shot and killed in a Chico intersection. He was heading back to his overnight work shift at a rehab center nearby.
Chico police have since arrested 27-year-old Jeffrey Menzies for the shooting.
Investigators say Menzies has no connection to Yang, but they say Menzies was drunk and said he just wanted to kill someone.
Family and friends say they're trying to forgive Yang's killer, because they say that's what Yang would do.
Yang was also in the middle of a pastoral internship at a Hmong church near Chico.
The man accused of killing him will be in court later this month.
