Mourners gather to honor Bulls legend Johnny 'Red' Kerr

The laughs equaled the tears when Chicago Bulls icon Johnny "Red" Kerr was laid to rest Thursday.

Painted as the consummate rascal by friends, family and colleagues, stories of the former NBA player, coach and broadcaster generally involved the gregarious Kerr as being the life of just about any party, if not the instigator of them.

"There were times we'd get back from a road game at two or three in the morning, and while many of us were heading to our cars to go home, John was getting in his car to go out," recalled Bulls General Manager John Paxson.

Former Bulls marketing director and current NBA vice president of communications Brian McIntyre said Kerr would have appreciated the tone of the service.

"I think he would have been up there telling some of the funnier stories," McIntyre said after the service. "He was a unique character."

An overflow crowd of roughly 300 said their goodbyes. The morning service featured eulogies by Kerr's son Matthew, friends and former broadcast colleagues Bill Wennington and Neil Funk as well as Paxson.

Wennington regaled the standing-room-only crowd with a story about Kerr at a golf course along the ocean in Florida.

"He was always thinking ahead," Wennington began the tale.

Because Kerr knew Wennington was a lousy golfer, Kerr volunteered to partner with Wennington and bring up the rear of the groups out on the course that day. Wennington said his first shot went into the woods and Kerr encouraged him to continue hunting for his ball because there was no one behind them and they could take their time. After several minutes of searching for his ball with no success, Wennington emerged from the woods to find Kerr fishing at the water's edge.

"Keep looking for your ball!" Kerr shouted to Wennington while continuing to fish.

John Freyer also spoke about the man he called "Uncle John." Freyer's father, Jack, was lifelong friends with Kerr, having grown up in the same Chicago neighborhood where Kerr was first dubbed "Red," and the elder Freyer had the unfortunate moniker of "Stinky."

"They tried to make each other laugh until they cried, and they were good at it," Freyer said. "With Uncle John, it was all happy times."

Freyer remembered Kerr trying to brighten his spirits during the funeral for Freyer's father a few years ago. Kerr convinced Freyer that his father had neglected to give him a dollar he owed him before he died and asked Freyer to fish it out of his father's wallet, which happened to be inside the pants he was wearing in the coffin. Kerr wanted a specific dollar bill.

"You'll know it when you see it," Kerr told Freyer.

Sure enough, inside the wallet was a dollar bill with writing on it. The bill read, "This dollar is the property of Stinky Freyer, but the rightful owner is Johnny Kerr."

"I always thought Stinky Freyer was a figment of John's imagination," Funk later joked.

Kerr died Feb. 26 at age 76 after battling prostate cancer. News of his death came just hours after the Bulls learned of longtime Bulls player Norm Van Lier's passing as well. Kerr died just days after the Bulls unveiled a statue erected in his honor at the United Center.

Kerr's playing career spanned 12 years with three teams before he took over the reins as Bulls coach in 1966. That stint lasted just three seasons, but he was named coach of the year in 1967. He was also the Bulls announcer for decades.