More than 500 people packed First Baptist Church in Roanoke, Virginia, to celebrate the life of slain WDBJ cameraman Adam Ward, who was shot and killed at 27 last Wednesday while filming a news segment.

WDBJ employees filled eight pews in the front of the church, according to WRIC. Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe attended the service, family spokesperson Mike Stevens told PEOPLE.

“The service was a testament to the way people in Roanoke, Salem and the surrounding areas have come together to honor this young man,” Stevens tells PEOPLE.

“It also was yet another example of the continuing grace and dignity that Adam’s family members have exhibited through all of this.”

Ward’s closed casket was adorned with a wreath of orange and red flowers, the colors of Virginia Tech, from which Ward graduated in 2011.

Last night, for more than six hours, hundreds of people weaved through the halls of Salem High School, Ward’s alma mater, to pay respects to Ward’s family and fiancée, Melissa Ott, according to The Roanoke Times.

“Adam was such a joyful person, always in a happy mood, which at 3 o’clock in the morning sometimes is hard to do,” WDBJ anchor Kimberly McBroom shared with PEOPLE in the days after the shooting. “You could ask Adam to do anything, to work three hours late, and he would do it and he wouldn’t complain. You could always count on him.”

In the auditorium, Ward lay in an open casket, wearing a cap from Virginia Tech, surrounded by maroon and orange flower arrangements.

“After high school, he fulfilled another dream by becoming a proud member of the Hokie Nation,” his obituary states. “Adam was the one with the painted chest in 20 degree weather screaming the loudest from the end zone.”

The Virginia Tech football team will wear a helmet decal honoring Ward and slain journalist Alison Parker, 24, during their game against No. 1 Ohio State on Monday, ESPN reports.

Adam’s father, Buddy Ward, a retired guidance counselor at Salem High School, was wearing a pin with a photo of his son’s smiling face perched in his hands, The Roanoke Times reports.

“Even though he died a senseless death, his life was not senseless. His life was an example of how one should live,” Scott Habeeb, the principal of Salem High School, told PEOPLE. Habeeb was Ward’s middle school football coach and kept in contact with him through the years.

Habeeb added: “If you knew Adam, you’d like Adam. If you knew Adam, you were around someone who made people better. If you are around Adam, you’re gonna love him. He’s too friendly, too nice. It’s love. It’s sad.”

“Adam had the biggest heart. He made our team better even though he was not the star. His whole class looked at him as a leader and an example of how one should be.”

Ward and Ott, who his obituary calls “the love of his life,” planned to marry on a South Carolina beach next summer.

“Adam would talk about Melissa and how much he loved her, and talk about their wedding,” McBroom told PEOPLE. “He was just funny and full of joy. They were best friends.”

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations be made to two scholarships set up in Ward’s name: Salem Education Foundation and Alumni Association, and you can click here to donate or send a check to P.O Box 1461, Salem, VA, 24153; or to the Adam L. Ward Scholarship at Virginia Tech through WDBJ-7, 2807 Hershberger Road, NW, Roanoke, VA 24017

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