I don't know the exact saying, but I know it's something along the lines of the measure of a man being the turnout at his funeral.

By that standard, Kurt Davids was a giant.

Of course, his many, many friends knew he was a (mostly) jolly giant — literally — and that was reflected in the astounding crowd that packed Ryan Funeral Home in De Pere Tuesday.

When the vistation began at 4 p.m., there already was a line of mourners.

When my girlfriend, Sue, and I arrived about 6:30 p.m., there still was a long line and it took us 15 minutes to get to the front to offer our sympathies to Kurt's girlfriend, Michelle Bartoletti, and his parents.

The service was touching and special with the Oneida Hymn Singers performing (Kurt's mother Phyllis is Oneida).

Rev. Kristina Henning connected well with personal stuff about Kurt, which she said was helped by some autobiographical information Kurt had written that Michelle had given to her.

She noted that Kurt wrote that he had been a bowler since he was 2 years old and asked what parent would take a 2-year-old bowling.

"One who loves their child," would have been the proper response!

And it could have been offered by dozens of mourners — you could have staged one helluva competitive bowling tournament with those who came to pay their respects, which wasn't the least bit surprising considering how many of the state's top bowlers Kurt worked with during his years running pro shops at Schwoegler's and Badger Bowl in Madison and Pro Bowl in Green Bay.

Kurt made friends through his work and through his own bowling and just through being a jovial guy with a great — and often biting — sense of humor.

He and I hit it off upon meeting and became close friends almost immediately.

I spent much of the ride to Green Bay Tuesday telling Sue hilarious story upon hilarious story about the "BFI," as Kurt was known to his friends. Many of them could not be printed in an all-ages publication. 

One of the favorites that can happened at a suburban Chicago casino during Mike Nape's bachelor party. Kurt threw out a bewildering array of bets and told me, "Riggs there's only one number I don't win money on, one number that can beat me," as the dice rolled down the table. When they stopped, he pointed at the dice and said, "There it is," as the cips were swept from the table. It had been the hateful 7. We laughed and cried at the same time. 

I will never forget the many times Kurt joked about dating my mom or being adopted by her after my dad died in 1990.

And I have to assume there are lots of yos being bet at Heaven's craps table.

Kurt was an usher in my wedding in 1993 and brought the house down when he donned dark sunglasses to go with his dark tuxedo, making him look something out of Goodfellas or The Godfather. I am going to find one of those pictures of Kurt and get it to Michelle and his family!

Like all men, Kurt had his faults — enough to cost him some friends. But that his overall charm outweighed them was evident to anyone who came Tuesday night to celebrate his life and mourn his tragic and far-too-young death last Friday.

I still am too stunned to even process that he is gone. The one concrete thought I had Tuesday was that we must do something to honor him at the Badger Bowl New Year's Eve Classic — Kurt's birthday was Dec. 31 and that tourney always was a favorite of his.

Madison Bowling Association manager Bill Dennis made the excellent suggestion to rename the tourney in memory of Kurt. It can formally be the "Kurt Davids New Year's Eve Classic" but I know we'll all call it simply "The BFI."

R.I.P. my good friend. You may be gone but you will never be forgotten.

The Green Bay Press Gazette obituary for Kurt is here.