Melnyk died Jan. 15 of pancreatic cancer. He was 58.

The memorial service location was appropriate as Melnyk spearheaded a volunteer effort to rebuild the legion after a fire razed the old building two days before Remembrance Day in 1987.

After arriving in 1962 in Inuvik, where he was based with the Canadian military, Melnyk moved throughout North America, finally settling in Norman Wells in 1984.

"He was a very important man," said Bob Davies, a friend of Melnyk and regional manager of commercial operations for Canadian Airlines.

"No one has done more for the region than he has."

Melnyk was so important to Canadian that, for the first time ever, the airline last month offered a special $99 round-trip fare to Norman Wells from Calgary, Edmonton or Yellowknife so mourners could attend the service.

The Norman Wells Northern store also closed early, both out of respect and so staff could get to the legion. "There was never any second thoughts, they were there," said Bill Byrne, a longtime friend and Norman Wells mayor from 1984 through 1991, of Melnyk and his wife Agnes' dedication at the service.

Byrne remembers a time when he was mayor in 1985 and about to meet the commissioner, John Parker.

Byrne was nervous about not owning a tie, but Melnyk found him one and taught him how to tie it.

Melnyk was the Sahtu's field executive officer 1984 through 1994. That now-extinct position partly meant he could convey regional concerns directly to cabinet, said Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development Minister Stephen Kakfwi, who spoke at the service.

"He was a gentle man who told it like it was," Kakfwi said. "You asked him and he just told you."

Kakfwi told the congregation Melnyk relayed concerns from Sahtu residents, such as their desire for a local health board.

Within a year of Melnyk's retirement from the GNWT, he won a three-year term as Norman Wells mayor that ended in November.

The last year of his life was fraught with illness after an initial operation for cancer Jan. 21, 1997.

Left to mourn his loss are his wife, Agnes of Bellevue, Alta., son Richard (Linda) of Cold Lake, Alta., and son Tim, daughter Gail (Brent) Lammi and grandson Michael Melnyk, all of Norman Wells.