A tearful Erik Nielsen fondly recalled the last supper he had with Ralph Hudson during a memorial service for the late judge Thursday afternoon in Whitehorse.

Nielsen, the former Yukon MP and deputy prime minister, was speaking to the audience of more than 100 gathered to remember the former Yukon Supreme Court judge who died Jan. 14.

Nielsen was reminiscing about a dinner in the past year or so he had with his former law firm partners, Hudson and the late John Anton. He said the three had a good time, and it had been great getting together again.

After it was over and the three emerged from the restaurant to go their separate ways, Hudson remarked that it was nice getting together again.

'He said, OK, fellows, next year, same time, same place,'' a crying Nielsen said.

'Yukon will be sorry to lose this man.'

Nielsen is now the final one of the triumvirate left. Hudson made his last trip to the Yukon in December for Anton's funeral after the lawyer died in a local apartment fire.

Nielsen also spoke repeatedly about his friend's willingness to go out of his way to be kind and gentle.

'Ralph didn't go through this world without touching a good many people,' said Nielsen. It was one of the few times anybody referred to the late judge by anything but his nickname, Buzz.

'As a person, he was the epitome of honour, integrity, reliability and just a dog-gone good friend.'

Nielsen said it will be difficult to overcome the loss of Hudson's friendship.

He talked about Hudson's ability to read people well, which worked for him when he was a defence lawyer.

Nielsen also read from a letter sent to Hudson's widow, Jan, by Beverley McLachlin, the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.

''I regarded Ralph as a dedicated and learned jurist,'' McLachlin wrote about Hudson. 'I also knew him as a person of great warmth.'

Hudson was 72 when he died after a lengthy bout with cancer.

He first moved to the Yukon in 1960 to work for Nielsen's law firm. Hudson stayed in the territory with his family until taking a job at a southern law firm in 1974.

After serving as a deputy Yukon territorial judge since 1976 and a B.C. provincial court judge for more than a decade, he returned north in 1993 to be the senior judge of the Yukon Supreme Court.

He retired in 2003.

This was the second memorial for Hudson. The first was held on Salt Spring Island on B.C.'s coast, where he and Jan had moved to following his retirement.

Hudson was also well known for his love of basketball, something he had played at the University of British Columbia and then in the Yukon after venturing up here.

Long-time friend Ken McKinnon talked about one performance of Hudson's on the basketball court that didn't involve the ball but the microphone.

McKinnon spoke about the very first Arctic Winter Games in 1970 in the Northwest Territories. Hudson was the coach of the Yukon basketball team, which McKinnon was on.

Team members were left with their jaws hanging out as they took the court and watched their opponents from Alaska warm up.

It got worse for them when the Alaska coach took the microphone and started describing the starting line-up for the crowd. According to McKinnon, some of the players were All-American's from top U.S. colleges.

By the time it was over, the Yukon players were left hanging their heads.

That's when Hudson grabbed the microphone and, in McKinnon's words, erupted into a comic routine that was one of his finest moments.

He said Hudson started parodying classic sports announcers, introducing one of the players as being from the banks of the Yukon River and the Teslin School.

Another player, Australian expatriate Barry Bellchambers, he introduced as being from the wilds of the outback.

When it came time for McKinnon, Hudson introduced him as being formerly from the hard benches of the University of Manitoba basketball team and now sitting on the backbenches of her majesty's opposition (McKinnon was an MLA at the time).

'The gym (had) erupted with cheers and laughter,' McKinnon said about the response to Hudson's routine.

While nobody remembers how badly Alaska whipped the Yukoners, said McKinnon, nobody who was in that gym will forget Hudson's words.

While Hudson was full of humour, said McKinnon, he was never mean of spirit.

He noted that his friend was always doing nice things. However, McKinnon remembered one time when doing what he thought was something nice backfired on him.

McKinnon noted that one day while a group of them were at Marsh Lake camping and water-skiing, Hudson showed he was not aware of outhouse etiquette.

McKinnon said outhouse etiquette dictates that if the door is not latched, someone is in there. But if the door is latched, it's free.

On that day, Hudson was headed down to the lake and noticed the door wasn't latched.

Seeing this, the future judge went over to close it just to be nice.

He then hit the lake and, for the first time, after some lessons, succeeded on riding the water-skis.

However, his beloved wife, Jan, was nowhere to be found to celebrate his triumph with him.

An hour later, Jan came marching down to the shore.

' Jan, Jan!' Buzz yelled to her, You missed it! I was up and skiing!'' said McKinnon.

' How could I possibly see, dear? I've been locked in the outhouse for two hours!'' McKinnon said, relating her response.

She had to break down the door to get out. But it didn't take the two long to forgive and forget, he said.

After reading a passage from Hamlet, McKinnon said good bye to his friend: 'Good night, sweet Buzz.'

Former Yukon politician Flo Whyard talked about the work Hudson did in the community with different groups, including the local chamber of commerce.

As well, Whyard remarked that Buzz and Jan made people believe in 'a match made in heaven.'

Thursday's service, which was attended by many dignitaries including those from the city's legal community, was held at the United Church on Main Street.