AS A few hundred biodegradable balloons - all colours of the rainbow - floated away into the blue sky and sunshine yesterday, the life of Launceston City Council Deputy Mayor Jeremy Ball was remembered and celebrated.
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His son Griffin released the first balloon, followed by his younger son Jasper held by their mother, Karina, then the crowd followed suit.
The father, husband, brother, son, friend and colleague died in a crash on the Bass Highway last week.
Alderman Ball's family was joined at Albert Hall by Premier Will Hodgman, opposition leader Bryan Green, Senators Christine Milne, Peter Whish-Wilson, Helen Polley, Carol Brown and Anne Urquhart, and Mayor Albert van Zetten and about 1500 others who came to pay their respects.
Alderman Danny Gibson, from the Launceston City Council, led the ceremony.
The diversity of those paying their respects reflected the many lives and friendships Alderman Ball had made.
Environmentalists, business people, restaurateurs, tradespeople, the arts community, new Australians, friends and those from all sides of politics listened to a short synopsis of his life.
Tributes came from former Greens leader Bob Brown, who remembered meeting a young Jeremy rallying for the state's first dedicated bike way, and close friend Tommy Millen, who recounted the time "Jezza" and he set up a protest camp to protect the Blue Tier before his parents went on to be arrested - which he described as one of his proudest moments.
Brothers Jonathan Ball and Julian Northmore shared memories from their childhood in the UK of a little brother who thought he could make himself invisible by tying a shoelace around his toe, and then of the man who brought them altogether for BLWs - Brother Long Weekends.
One treasured family memory was the annual New Year's Eve celebrations at Binalong Bay, where Alderman Ball would sing Auld Lang Syne in his best Scottish accent.
Led by parents Caroline and John Ball, the family sang the song again and the crowd joined in at the chorus while images of Alderman Ball's childhood, family camping trips, dinners and school photos flashed up on a large screen.
In a tribute read by Alderman Gibson, Karina recounted her first date with Alderman Ball and how he was so nervous he took cue cards.
She also told of the immense closeness and hero status his sons held for 'Dada'.
"Thank you for giving me Griffin and Jasper, I will cherish them and hold them close," Karina wrote.
"Thank you for giving me the 10 best years of my life."
A standing ovation followed Alderman Ball's coffin as it left the Albert Hall.
