Family, friends, and fellow elected officials gathered in Queens on Sunday for the funeral of State Assemblyman Michael Simanowitz.

"Mike had a heart of gold," said Queens City Councilman Barry Grodenchik, fighting back tears. "He was truly beloved by everybody who knew him, and I can't think of a person that I know that was more admired and more loved, and I can't think of anyone, in or out of public life, that was more decent than Mike Simanowitz."

Dozens of people, including several elected officials, paid tribute to him in Forest Hills after he passed away Saturday.

Sources told NY1 that Simanowitz, 45, died from cancer, but it is unclear what type.

"He never, you know, said 'Why me?' And his spirits were always up, even when he got bad news about the illness. He always came to work.  The only times he didn't come to Albany, of course, was if he was receiving treatment," State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said. "He never let his battle with this disease keep him from doing his job."

The Democratic lawmaker was elected to the Assembly in 2011, representing several Queens neighborhoods like College Point and Kew Gardens.

Simanowitz was previously chief of staff to Assemblywoman Nettie Mayersohn for more than 15 years.

"I think Queens and New York City lost a champion, and when you think about running for public office, I hope people look at his life and look at his career and realize that he was the gold standard of public service," City Comptroller Scott Stringer said.

Heastie praised Simanowitz for his public service, and said he would most remember his quick wit and intelligence.

"He was a real advocate for his community and for the people of the state of the New York," Heastie said outside the funeral home. "He's going to really be missed."

Gov. Andrew Cuomo did not attend the funeral, but he expressed his condolences in a statement: "We shared a love for our home borough of Queens and a belief in public service as a vehicle for positive change. As an Assembly member and prior to that a staffer, he was widely respected by his peers and his partners in government."

Several city police officers and detectives attended the assemblyman's funeral because, for 15 years, Simanowitz volunteered with the NYPD's auxiliary police program at the 107th Precinct station house in Flushing.

"When he ran for public office, he could no longer be an auxiliary policeman, and that bothered him a lot," Grodenchik said. "Here's a guy who is willing to go to Albany 2,3,4,5 days a week, willing to don the uniform.

"We know it's a dangerous job, and he was upset that he couldn't do it anymore with everything else that he had to do," Grodenchik continued.

Simanowitz is survived by his wife and four children.

Photo above courtesy nyassembly.gov