PORTAGE | A crowd estimated at close to 200 attended funeral services for David Highlands on Saturday to recall both his passion for public service and his humor.

Highlands, 54, has been a Portage councilman since 1988 and was a Republican candidate for mayor this year. He died Wednesday at Porter Valparaiso Hospital Campus. His twin sons Colin and Patrick both spoke of Highlands' influence on them and the community.

Colin Highlands said many people remembered his father as "a dedicated professional who was passionate about public service and had a willingness to make a difference." Many also told him how they were intimidated at first by David Highland "only to find out he was an honest and fair man who would go to great lengths to make his point -- and you respected that."

Although David Highlands was a triple amputee, a condition that resulted from a steel coil falling on him when he was younger, he never complained about it or let it inhibit his actions.

"He may have been the only triple amputee serving as a head basketball and baseball coach for his sons," Colin Highlands said. "Although a game of catch or horse may have taken longer than usual, I never considered him different than any other father.

"As a child I remember being shocked that, despite having only one hand, he could build a model airplane that looked like the real thing, while I struggled every step of the way. My father could often be viewed playing video games.

"If we were in Radio Shack, he could not pass up an opportunity to purchase a remote controlled car with many wild features. He may have told Mom it was for Patrick and me, but we knew who he really purchased if for."

While praising his father for succeeding at the highest level and having the "heart and will of 10 men," Patrick Highlands said the sometimes intimidating David Highlands was a "fun-loving man who was young at heart." He recalled his father buying boxes of baseball cards for his sons and then keeping a computer spreadsheet of every card they owned, updating the value as each new price list was issued.

"He loved airplanes," Patrick Highlands said. "I remember this past summer during the Gary Air Show, when the F-16s were flying over our house. We sat outside together all afternoon and just watched. With a smile on his face, he would point in the air and say, 'That is awesome.' Seeing my Dad carefree, with no worries about life, meant a great deal to me. He was truly a kid at heart."

The Rev. Dennis Ticen, of the First United Methodist Church of Portage, said of David Highlands, "He had a depth of character that could not be measured at first glance. Even if you disagreed with him, you had to respect his commitment to Portage, his fairness and his commitment to making a positive difference."

Ticen recalled David Highlands was fired from the Dairy Queen by his mother for giving free food to the kids on the baseball team he coached. "He coached Little League and basketball, I think, partly to be with his kids," Ticen said. "He loved more than anything to see his kids happy. He was a man of many skills, talents and gifts.

"His death is a loss to the city of Portage."