Tim Weigel was everyone’s friend.

The more than 400 friends and family members who attended the Wednesday night memorial service for the popular journalist, along with the crowd of mourners outside, were a testament to what one friend called his unbiased congeniality.

Weigel, a Chicago-area television sportscaster and newspaper columnist best known for his quick wit and colorful wardrobe, died Sunday in his Evanston home after a yearlong battle with a brain tumor. He was 56.

The 6 p.m. memorial service at First Conregational Church, 1417 Hinman Ave., was led by minister Ted Miller. It included speeches by Weigel’s son Rafer, his daughter Jenniffer and his third wife, Vicki Truax.

Wearing what he said was “the only monochromatic tie” in his father’s closet, Rafer was the first family member to speak at the private ceremony.

“He made everyone he met feel like family,” Rafer said. “His openness to all people was a quality to be revered. Let us celebrate … knowing that he has the best seat in the house.”

About 20 officers from the Evanston Police Department closed off streets from Chicago to Judson avenues and Davis to Greenwood streets to accommodate the service.

Some members of the general public listened to the services in the church’s basement. Others listened while standing on a lawn outside, where the ceremony was broadcast on a loudspeaker.

Jenniffer Weigel also shared remembrances of life with her father. She told with mourners several anecdotes about her father’s effect on the people around him.

“One day, driving back from a doctor’s appointment, he said ‘I finally get it,'” she said, recalling one of the last memories she had of Weigel before his death. “‘It’s about family … I can’t read, I can’t write – but I can love.'”

Some of Weigel’s closest friends also shared some of their memories with the crowd.

“He never lost faith,” said Weigel’s friend Jim Bodman. “Even as recent as as a month and a half ago, he was on the golf course with me saying he was going to beat this disease.

“He shared his heart, he shared his wallet and he shared his calendar,” Bodman added. “He made time for everyone who needed what he had to give.”

The two-hour ceremony included performances by Buddy Charles, one of Weigel’s favorite musicians.

Among the songs played were “We’ll Meet Again,” “Pennies From Heaven” and “Make Someone Happy.”

Barbara Broeckl, a Chicago resident and Weigel fan who watched him on WBBM Channel 2 for the past three years, was among those listening to the ceremony on the lawn outside the church.

She said that over the years, Weigel had become a part of her life.

“He really grows on you,” she said. “He did love life and he lived it – he made himself part of my life on channel 2.”

Weigel earned a graduate degree in film from Northwestern after earning a bachelor’s degree in history at Yale University.

Weigel ended his career at WBBM after spending six years as the station’s sports director. For most of his career, Weigel worked WLS Channel 7. He wrote a column for the Chicago Sun-Times from 1994 to 1996.