Toward the end of his life, despite deteriorating health, Jack Metcalf was able to hold on to the attributes that made him successful in life: the love for his family, humility, ingenuity and his sense of humor.

As the Metcalf family and more than 300 mourners came together Saturday at Langley’s Assembly of God Church to celebrate his 79 years, there was lots of laughter and many tears for the former congressman.

As mourners quietly gathered in the church’s lobby before the celebration of Metcalf’s life, they viewed mementoes — family photos of Metcalf posing with fishing buddies, a wedding picture with wife Norma and one of him with the famous pumpkins he used as oversized calling cards during an early campaign for state legislature.

The loss of ‘Gentleman Jack,’ as he was fondly called, created ripples from South Whidbey all the way to the White House. On display was a note of condolence from Pres. George W. Bush and Laura on White House stationary.

Reminding visitors of Metcalf’s political life were shots of him at a congressional caucus meeting with other Republican leaders and surrounded by his staff.

A picture of Metcalf striding down the steps of the nation’s Capitol holding an Klondike ice cream bar brought back memories to his sailing buddy Harvey Sanderson, who recalled how down to earth Metcalf could be.

“He loved his wife’s pies, in fact any kind of dessert,” Sanderson said. “Jack was a regular guy in every sense of the word.”

The memorial drew a wide spectrum of friends and admirers, from those dressed in flannel, jeans and cowboy boots to others in their Sunday best.

Norma Metcalf said her husband never noticed such things.

“Jack was such a humble guy,” she said. “He liked just about everyone he met; he would have been surprised by all this, and maybe a little embarrassed.”

As the service began, Norma Metcalf remembered her husband’s fight in recent years against Alzheimer’s. He died from complications from the disease on March 15.

“We’ve seen Jack die bit by bit over the years, and we rejoice in his release from that terrible disease,” she said.

She then told of her husband’s love of history, especially Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar.

“At this time of year, he would always go through the house yelling ‘Beware the Ides of March, beware the Ides of March,” she said.

Finally, his warning would come. “The Ides of March has come,’ and the response —’Aye, Caesar, but not gone.’”

On March 15, his daughter Lea leaned close to her father at the care facility in Oak Harbor where he was being treated. She whispered, “It’s OK to go now. It’s the Ides of March.”

Metcalf died several hours later.

Before turning the memorial service over to her daughters, Norma noted her husband once found a piece of driftwood, and thought it might make a good cane. She held it up for all to see.

“That’s the one I’m using today and it works great. Jack was always good at planning for the future.”

In a moving tribute by Metcalf’s daughters and son-in-law, the family shared memories of a life well lived and the many lessons he passed on along the way. Life is an adventure, Metcalf taught his daughters.

Daughter Marta Cahill invited the mourners along on a family trip to Europe, where her father overcame any language barrier by signaling with hands and feet and embarrassing his then-teenage daughters. Despite not knowing any foreign languages, Metcalf mingled with locals and even got an invitation to go out to sea with some Italian fishermen.

“Dad’s love for travel lasted as long as his coherent thought,” Cahill said.

The family often went on horse riding trips in various places and sometimes the whole family would stray off the beaten path with mixed results. Metcalf taught his daughter that a detour is simply part of the adventure.

“From dad, I learned life is fun,” said Beverly Ann Bowman, the youngest daughter.

Always, she said, there was her father’s optimism. And the man called by many as “Gentleman Jack,” and the Pacific Northwest’s version of Ronald Reagan, was a person who always thought the best of everyone.

It didn’t matter if he didn’t get such treatment in return, Bowman said.

“Mud just seemed to run off his back,” she said.

Metcalf installed values into “his girls” and taught the quartet to work hard, a gift the daughters learned well.

Gayle Metcalf said the nicest compliment she ever got was when somebody told her, “Somebody sure taught you how to work hard.”

Jack Metcalf was also known for a terrific sense of humor and a terrible love of ice cream. His family recalled how he once wrapped ice cream in freezing paper and labeled it “beef liver” to hide it from the kids.

His family said he never lost his sense of humor. It was only last year, long after the onset of the Alzheimer’s disease, when Metcalf’s 18-month-old great-granddaughter turned to him with a stern look and let loose with a long stream of undecipherable baby babble.

Metcalf turned to his daughter with a laugh, “I think she just cursed at me,” Gayle Metcalf recalled.

The ingenuity and creativity displayed in his humor distinguished Metcalf in politics and private life. But what made the tight-knit family strong was thier love for each other.

In a video chronicling his life, granddaughter Rachel Franklin said her grandfather’s greatest accomplishment in life was marrying Norma, a love that remained strong to the end.

Metcalf had lost the ability to speak about three weeks before his death, said daughter Lea Headley, who had been her father’s caregiver for the last 18 months.

He just couldn’t form the words any more, she said.

But in his final hours the cloud of Alzheimer’s disease seemed to lighten for just long enough to give Norma and the family an unforgettable final memory.

“Three days before he died, he met my gaze and smiled at me,” Headley said.

Her mother sat by his bed later, Headley recalled.

“Mother said, ‘I love you’, and he said — very clearly — ‘I love you,’” she recalled.

With all the love he shared with his family, Metcalf had more to spare. An extended family of son-in-laws and friends looked up to the man as a teacher and father figure.

Dave Bowman recalled how he was intimidated at first because he was interested in Metcalf’s daughter Beverly Ann. He was soon welcomed into the family, though.

Being in the minority in a home dominated by women, Metcalf welcomed Bowman because he would “even out the odds,” he said.

The picture of a big-hearted, vibrant man was underscored by the memories shared by the community.

Kent Turner remembered how Metcalf patiently listened to the ideas of Turner when he was only a student.

“He was talking to me like I was the only person in the world,” Turner said. “Thank you for the opportunity to talk to you.”

Metcalf also was a religious man who was baptized late in life.

Marlis Leim recalled Metcalf studying scripture and sharing it with others.

“He read the Bible to his guests (at the bed and breakfast) if they wanted to or not,” she said, drawing appreciative laughter from the audience. “Thank you for the courage to speak out for God.”

“Jack was firmly convinced in what he believed,” added Pastor Matt Chambers said.

Rep. Chris Strow, now an assistant minority floor leader representing the 10th Legislative District in Olympia, was once Metcalf’s political aide.

“It warms my heart to see this turnout,” he said. “Jack lived a life oversimplified and misunderstood by many,” Strow said.

Strow noted how much Metcalf’s passing meant to him personally.

“I had a wonderful working relationship with him as my boss and my friend. I learned humility as his chief political aide,” Strow said while softly crying. “He gave me many gifts through his example.”

Metcalf’s memorial drew a Who’s Who from Washington politics. The audience included Congressman Doc Hastings, former U.S Sen. Slade Gorton, former Secretary of State Ralph Munro, state senators Mary Margaret Haugen and Val Stevens, Rep. Bob Williams, former state sen. Gary Nelson, Snohomish County Councilman John Koster and others.

Munro noted that Metcalf “had lived his whole life as a matter of principle,” while labor leader Robert Dilfer observed that the labor movement held Metcalf in high regard.

Metcalf aide Laura Shock ran Metcalf’s congressional office.

“Jack never failed to say ‘thank you.’ I miss him so much.”

Former state Rep. Dave “Checkers” Ceccarelli said Metcalf never brought up failures and never forgot to say, “keep up the good work.”

In 1994, Brian Calvert ran Metcalf’s first congressional campaign in the San Juan Islands.

“I never heard anyone say an unkind word about him. He treated everyone with respect, even those with whom he disagreed,” he said.

“He was a model American, maybe one of the last of his kind of politician.”