Talk of tragedy dominated news coverage all week.

On Saturday, Pastor Joseph Lehman said victory was the focus.

The funeral service celebrated the life of Thomas Farrell, his devotion to family, his commitment to civic causes and youth sports, his playful sense of humor, his compassion, perseverance and dedication to running.

But Lehman acknowledged also the peculiar pain tied to lingering questions about Thomas Farrell's death.

Early Monday, Farrell was but days away from turning 50 when a hit-and-run driver ended his life. At the time, probably about 5:45 a.m., Farrell was on a morning run near Cave Spring Elementary School in Southwest Roanoke County. The driver has not come forward or been identified.

"We've been living with questions yet to be answered for us," Lehman said as the service began. "Something like this wasn't supposed to happen to a runner who was always alert and conscientious."

Farrell, he said, was taken from family and friends in the prime of life.

"[Yet] perfection is not measured in how long we live," Lehman said. "Where God is, where love is, there is always triumph and good."

Love was evident Saturday during the one-hour service.

Our Lady of Nazareth Catholic Church seats nearly 640 people. Chairs were filled. A few mourners stood. On the front row, among other family, sat Farrell's widow, Connie, and the couple's daughters, Elizabeth and Katie.

Before the service, in the church vestibule, Connie Farrell stood by a folding table and easels where displays offered glimpses of her husband's life and theirs. There, among other items, was a worn pair of blue-striped Asics running shoes, certificates of appreciation from the Roanoke Valley Breakfast Lions Club and from the Legal Aid Society of Roanoke Valley, a blue satin Buffalo Bills football jacket, and a kazoo.

Connie Farrell explained that her husband's Lions Club group fines members who are not equipped with a kazoo at club events. She added, smiling, "We wouldn't want that to happen today."

Family photographs showed Tom Farrell beaming in the midst of friends and family, with images of his arms draped around his daughters, photos of him with a youth sports team he coached, a shot of the couple's wedding day.

An enlarged photograph pictured Farrell crossing the finish line of the 2007 Richmond Marathon. He began the race determined to complete the 26 miles in under four hours, said Jim Schaaf, a friend and running companion.

Farrell finished with just a few minutes to spare, according to race results.

A native of Rochester, N.Y., Farrell would have turned 50 on Feb. 1. He was a partner at the Roanoke law firm of WootenHart.

Schaaf, as a speaker at the service, said that during a run together the day before Farrell's death, his friend was unusually talkative. Farrell joked that morning, Schaaf said, about an invitation recently received to join AARP. Farrell seemed less than enthusiastic about the retiree organization's summons, said Schaaf -- until Schaaf told him AARP membership might promise discounts on running gear.

The medical examiner's office determined that Farrell's death was caused by blunt force impact injuries to the head.

Roanoke County Police Sgt. T.L. Wyatt said Friday that the department is investigating the death as a hit-and-run fatality.

Connie Farrell said Saturday that identifying the driver responsible will help the family feel some sense of closure.

"This [the funeral] will be the first step and that, certainly, will be another," she said.

After the service, Lehman knelt in the church foyer, cleaning up shards of glass and water from a vase accidentally shattered by a passing mourner.

He was asked whether God would ultimately forgive the person who caused Thomas Farrell's death.

Lehman briefly paused and then replied, "Yes. And it would be our duty as Christians to find our way to forgiving that person, as well."