The family and friends of former B.C. Lion Rick Klassen gathered in Surrey on Saturday to remember the fun-loving, hard-hitting family man who they say died too soon.

Rick Klassen was voted a member of the B.C. Lions All-Time Dream Team. He retired in 1990. (Rick Klassen/Facebook)

The celebration of life featured many stories about Klassen, who was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2013 and died in December 2016 at the age of 57.

His friend George Chayka recalled how a 3,500-lb forklift fell on Klassen's leg when Klassen was a teenager.

"When the doctor showed him the x-rays, he said 'No, it's not broken. It's bent,'" he told those gathered at the memorial.

"Sure enough, you could see on the x-ray, that the bone was curved from the impact of the bar hitting Rick's leg, but it didn't break."

'Rick just gave us his all'

That toughness served Klassen well on the field, first at Simon Fraser University and then in the CFL, where he starred for the B.C. Lions.

Rick Klassen was described by family and friends as a fun-loving, hard-hitting family man who was taken from them too soon. (CBC)

He won the Grey Cup in 1985 and earned a spot on the team's Wall of Fame in 2012.

"Rick just gave us his all," said former teammate Nick Hebeler. "He led by example and he showed the best of the best how to be better. For that I'm thankful."

Klassen may have seemed indestructible, but his 10 year CFL career took its toll on his body.

He suffered several brain injuries and his son said Klassen suffered from depression and mood swings.

George Chayka was one of several friends who told larger-than-life stories about Rick Klassen at a celebration of his life. (CBC)

His family has donated his brain to the Canadian Concussion Centre where it will be studied.

"He made his family proud," said Chayka.

"He made his friends proud. He made his schools proud. He made his communities proud and he made British Columbia proud on a national stage and it doesn't get much better than that."

With files from Jesse Johnston.