City Councilman Duke Bainum was remembered yesterday as "a kind man with a big heart who dedicated his life to public service."

Those words came from a friend, banker and former city finance director Roy Amemiya, but were echoed and emphasized by many yesterday during a memorial service at Hosoi Garden Mortuary.

Several hundred people showed up from 11:30 on to pay their respects to a physician from Arkansas who had become better known as a Honolulu politician.

Bainum, 56, died June 9 of complications from an aortic aneurysm. His sudden death came just six months after he was elected once again to a seat on the City Council, where he served from 1995 to 2003.

He is survived by his wife, Jennifer Toma; two sons, Z, 2 1/2, and Kona, 1; stepson Johnny Lesseos; stepdaughter Jennifer "Leona" Lesseos; a step-granddaughter; his mother, Evea; and brother, Timothy.

A burial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. today at Diamond Head Memorial Park.

Gov. Linda Lingle directed that state flags be flown at half-staff yesterday in honor of Bainum.

Councilman Nestor Garcia said he still can't believe Bainum is gone. He said he still feels his former colleague's presence, encouraging lawmakers to stay true to their commitment to public service — "making sure we don't roll over; making sure that at the end of the day we did the right thing," Garcia said.

Bainum grew up in a small town in Arkansas, the son of a plumber and a teacher, who started a family business running a motel that grew into other businesses. After graduating from college in Tennessee, Bainum earned his medical degree from the University of Maryland and moved to Hawai'i in 1980 for his surgical residency at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa.

Retired public health educator Bettye Jo Harris first got to know Bainum when he served in the state House from 1990 to 1994. They found they shared Arkansas roots as well as passion for public health, and remained friends since then.

Harris was impressed by Bainum's commitment to helping others and the community. "A lot of things he did quietly," she said, smiling.

"It was more than his know-how — his humility, his offering of himself in a friendly way."

Former state Sen. Bert Kobayashi said he thinks Bainum's key political accomplishments included creating a city rainy-day fund, helping uncover wrongdoing in the 'Ewa Villages housing development and strengthening city ethics regulations.

"We are better for his having passed our way," Kobayashi said.

Dentist Joe Young recalled one December when the flu vaccine was in short supply and Bainum had asked him: "How can I help Chinatown?" Young arranged for a free flu shot clinic largely for immigrants who spoke little English. Young set up the tables and Bainum showed up with 700 doses of vaccine.

Bainum's friend and campaign stalwart, Andy Winer, suggested that those attending the service keep Bainum in mind and "engage in some act of public or charitable service."

Winer also recalled a more playful side of Bainum, the man who always took the time to call friends on their birthday — usually at about 7:15 a.m. — and sing "Happy Birthday," "off-key in that Arkansas twang, all three verses, often laughing his head off."