Many people knew former City Council Chairwoman Barbara Marshall as a hard-nosed, no-nonsense news reporter and elected official. But yesterday she was remembered by friends and colleagues as a loving wife, mother and grandmother who had a big heart and a quick smile.

About 100 people attended a memorial service for Marshall yesterday at the Mission Memorial Auditorium next to Honolulu Hale. City officials organized the event as a tribute to Marshall, 64, who died Feb. 22 of cancer.

Those in attendance were serenaded by the Royal Hawaiian Band Glee Club as they lined up to offer condolences to Marshall's family. They also heard from several members of the City Council and city administration, who spoke of the woman they worked with for more than 20 years.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann remembered Marshall as a "very blunt, very candid person who spoke her mind." But the mayor said he also saw a softer side of her that he grew to love and respect.

Hannemann recalled a Windward City Lights celebration in Kane'ohe in 2007 when he and Marshall turned the switch to light the Christmas tree. He said he realized that the often-gruff Marshall also had a "little girl inside of her."

"I saw that at Windward City Lights," the mayor said, "how her eyes lit up and how she was so happy speaking about her family and that she appreciated how Christmas would make people smile and make people happy."

Although he and Marshall disagreed on several issues, Hannemann said, they had a mutual respect for each other. He said Marshall always kept her word and expected the same of others.

"If we want to remember our dear colleague Barbara, my fellow public servants, hold true to your word, recognize that no matter how talented you are, that you need people, both those who agree with you and those who disagree with you," Hannemann said.

Two former colleagues of Marshall's from her Channel 2 days spoke of the woman they respected as a journalist and elected official. City spokesman Bill Brennan and Councilman Nestor Garcia said Marshall was a hard worker who always was searching for the truth.

"Her entire career was about contributing to a better understanding of the issues of the day, whether she did that as a broadcast journalist or as an elected public official," Brennan said.

Garcia choked back tears as he talked about how he confided in Marshall when he learned that his wife had breast cancer. Garcia had known Marshall since he was a journalism student working part-time at Channel 2.

"She was our gem. We miss her," Garcia said. "But let's get on with the people's business. She would have wanted it that way."

After the service, Marshall's husband, Cliff Ziems, thanked city officials and the public for their kind words and support. Ziems said he was pleased that many spoke yesterday of the softer side of the woman he met on a plane in 1987 and married on July 4, 1991.

"The service today lent a little more personal information and feelings from important people in the city on how she wasn't just a City Council person or just a journalist. She was a real person, and the family is very important," Ziems said.