WASHINGTON — Henry K. Giugni often described himself as "a poor Hawaiian boy." But the nearly 400 friends and relatives who gathered for a memorial service here yesterday demonstrated he was a man rich with friendship.

"He was my mentor. He was my teacher. He was one of the most 'full of life' people that I have known," said Alice Petizon, a former staff member for Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawai'i, and now a New York attorney.

"He always took time for me, but not just for me. He took time for everybody.

"In many ways," Petizon said, "Henry was greater than life."

Giugni, 80, who died Nov. 3 in Rockville, Md., was the Senate's 30th sergeant at arms and an aide and friend to Inouye for almost half a century.

Among those attending the service were Inouye, Sen. Daniel K. Akaka, D-Hawai'i; Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.; Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass.; Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.V.; and Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska.

Petizon said she first met Giugni when she worked as an intern in Inouye's office in 1964 and described him as a "special, special man."

Giugni, a World War II Army veteran and a former Honolulu motorcycle cop, also played a part in Petizon's wedding.

"Not only did he drive me to my wedding but he calmed me down and got me to the aisle and then drove me and my husband to the reception," said Petizon, who worked for Inouye until 1972.

Gerry S.J. Cassidy, chairman of Cassidy & Associates, a Washington lobbying and pubic affairs firm where Giugni worked since 1991, said, "Henry was so generous with his friendship and so loyal to his friends that we're all here today. He was probably the most popular person in our office."

But Giugni also was smart, strong and competitive, said Cassidy, noting that Giugni would show up at an employee weekly card game "with a smile and a plan."

"Many a person who went to that game left a little lighter at the end of the evening," Cassidy said.

Cassidy also said Giugni had courage, describing an event where a man with a gun got into Giugni's car when it was turning a corner downtown by the firm's office building.

Giugni looked at the man, took out his own gun, which he had a permit to carry, pulled over to the curb and told the man to get out, Cassidy said.

With his gun in his hand, the man did, much to the amazement of Giugni's co-workers, who were coming into the firm's building, he said.

Millie Akaka, wife of Sen. Akaka, said she will miss her friendship with Giugni for another reason.

"We were fighting partners," she said, recalling some spirited conversations with him.

"He had such a big heart — he had a big mouth, but his heart was big, too," she said.

Sen. Kennedy said Giugni was there for him in 1963, when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

"He was a constant friend and he became a shoulder to cry on that afternoon 43 years ago next Tuesday, when I was presiding over the Senate and the news came over the wires that shattered my life about my brother in Dallas."

Kennedy said Giugni guided him with friendship and kindness in the weeks that followed.

Gina Pilialoha Giugni-Halbach, a daughter, praised her father in a poem as "a giant among men," and Deborah Roselani McMillan, another daughter, called him "such a force of nature."

After the memorial, Giugni's wife, Muriel, said the service was "beyond expectations."

"It was so touching," she said. "I had no idea he had touched so many people."

Inouye said he believed that Giugni would not only be happy but impressed with the outpouring of friendship and love.

"This is a great turnout because these are friends who wanted to be here," he said. "I think he's hoisting one for all of us."

Contact Dennis Camire at dcamire@gns.gannett.com.