Daily News Photo by SEAN McCOY Friends, family and colleagues of Gabe Learner listen to his mother Jennifer, at left, at the memorial service.

ST. THOMAS - With scripture, memories, songs and tears, people crowded into Superior Court Judge Brenda Hollar's courtroom on Saturday and said good-bye to the man who had blossomed there, Gabriel Lerner.

Lerner, 27, a Wisconsin native and Georgetown Law School graduate, has been Hollar's law clerk since August. On Tuesday, just days after being sworn in as a member of the Virgin Islands Bar on Oct. 24, he did not show up for work and Hollar reported he was missing.

Police spotted Lerner's car being driven by a pair of other people on Tuesday, moments after an all-points bulletin on the car was issued.

After an intensive manhunt, police arrested the two people who had been in the car: Devon Frett, 22, and a youth, 17.

The minor told police that he and Frett were hitchhiking on Cassi Hill in Smith Bay on Oct. 26, and Lerner picked them up on his way to a church event at Lindquist Beach. Police say that the pair robbed and kidnapped Lerner, then took him to a remote area on the West End of the island and murdered him.

Daily News Photo by SEAN McCOY Ariel Lerner holds her hands folded on her lap above a program for her brother Gabe Lerner's memorial service.

In the days since the territory learned of Lerner's murder, the community has both mourned the widely-liked young law clerk and reached out to his family and loved ones.

"Gabe was a rare creature, and our loss is unimaginable and heartbreaking," Lerner's uncle, Jeffrey Lerner, read from a statement written by the family. "But we will try to face this with the same fortitude that Gabe looked at his challenges."

Lerner was an active member of the Bahai Faith community, and many who knew him well said that he was always giving what he could to others.

Alan Smith, who was the master of ceremonies at the memorial service, met Lerner through the Bahai Faith.

"He moved to St. Thomas and embraced the life of the people here," Smith said. "He would have spent his entire life here."

During the service, it was obvious that Lerner had been embraced by the people of the territory as well.

For the memorial service, the courtroom was filled with friends and family, court employees, attorneys, judges, commissioners and members of the Bahai community as well as by people who did not know Lerner, but were touched by the tragedy.

A memorial booklet distributed at the service contained letters of condolences from Gov. John deJongh Jr., Lt. Gov. Gregory Francis, Superior Court Presiding Judge Darryl Donohue Sr., Hollar, Superior Court Judge Michael Dunston, Court Administrator Bridget Hodge, V.I. Supreme Court Chief Justice Rhys Hodge, Senate President Usie Richards, The Superior Court Rising Stars Family, the Territorial Public Defender's Office and a number of court employees and personal friends of Gabe Lerner.

"He came to work here in August, and in that brief space of time, he was able to capture the hearts of so many," Smith said. "It speaks of the purity of his character, and is a commentary on the depths of his faith."

Faith played a prominent role in Lerner's life. Throughout the service, several passages of Bahai scripture were read by members of the Bahai Junior Youth Class, with whom Lerner worked and by people who were in Lerner's Bahai study circle, and by his sisters, Ariel and Geneva Lerner.

A number of people went to the podium to share their memories of him.

Richie Hunt, a member of the Bahai Junior Youth Class, spoke of bonding with Lerner at a Bahai event held earlier this year. Richie said that he was so proud to have Lerner for his teacher, and was looking forward to having Lerner for a mentor for years to come.

"Now, Gabe will be my guide throughout high school, and because of him, I want to be a member of this court," Richie said. He was answered by a round of applause.

District Magistrate Judge George Cannon, who traveled from St. Croix for the service, recalled meeting with Lerner over lunch. Lerner was between jobs at the time, and had interviewed to be Hollar's law clerk. He had not heard from Hollar yet, and in the meantime had applied for - and was offered - two positions on St. Croix. Cannon was impressed by Lerner's character and encouraged him to stay on St. Croix, but Lerner said that what he really wanted was to clerk for Hollar.

V.I. Bar Association president Mark Hodge said that he did not personally know Lerner, but he was impressed at hearing about how kind, generous and loving he was.

To honor one of its newest members who never got the chance to begin his career as a lawyer, Hodge announced, the V.I. Bar Association will be creating a scholarship in honor of Lerner.

Gabe Lerner's mother, Jennifer Wanasek, and his father, Jerome Lerner, described their son's profound love of music and secret talent for playing the guitar and his mental brilliance.

"He was such an unusual creature, and we were blessed to have him," Wanasek said. "He challenged all of us. It's not often that children invite their parents to step up."

His mother said that she and the rest of the family are grateful to the Virgin Islands and its people for creating a home for her son.

He was at his happiest as Hollar's law clerk, and that makes the family happy, his mother said.

Family members expressed gratitude for support from the Virgin Islands. They mentioned especially the law enforcement officers who stopped at nothing to make sure that the two inside Lerner's car were found.

Although family members said that Lerner's death was a senseless tragedy, they said they knew that Lerner would not want them to be angry about it.

"I don't think he'd want any of us to carry around bitterness and anger," his uncle, Jeffrey Lerner said. "I think he'd want all of us to make the world a better place."

Gabriel Lerner was interred on St. Thomas on Saturday in East End Cemetery.

Lerner's family said that donations in his memory can be made to the Superior Court Rising Stars.

Condolences can be left online at www.wewillmissyougabe.blogspot.com/.