HIGHLAND PARK, ILLINOIS—On a cold but sunny January morning, the family and friends of Aaron Swartz gathered at Central Avenue Synagogue in suburban Chicago to mourn his passing and say their farewells. Not in attendance—or at least not anywhere that anyone would take notice of them—was hate group Westboro Baptist Church, which had threatened to picket his funeral. But the Highland Park Police Department was ready anyway should they have shown up, with squad cars set up to keep would-be protestors far away from the service.

But this morning was all about Swartz. Facing onerous federal charges for scraping 4.8 million documents from an academic archive at MIT, the young man took his own life on Friday, January 11 at the age of 26.

The crowd packed the sanctuary, numbering in the hundreds, with some mourners standing in the back. It was a diverse group, sprinkled with old men sporting foot-long beards and young men with pink mohawks. But such was the reach of Swartz.

The funeral service lasted over an hour-and-a-half, with remembrances delivered by friends and family bracketed by ancient prayers recited in Hebrew. There were moments of laughter spurred by memories of Swartz, but the atmosphere was one of incredible sadness befitting the tragic passing of one so young and bright.

Swartz was eulogized by his partner, Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman, his defense attorney Elliot Peters, and a couple of his friends, as well as tech luminaries Tim Berners-Lee and Lawrence Lessig.

Berners-Lee recalled Swartz's precociousness, sharing his surprise at finding out that one of his conversation partners in a standards-setting group was just 14 years old. "We've lost an elder… a fighter," Berners-Lee remarked.

Struggling at times to compose himself, Lessig described his decade-long friendship with Swartz. "Aaron was the mentor and I the mentee," Lessig explained. He inveighed against the prosecution of the case, arguing that the prosecutor was incapable of recognizing the distinction between "stealing with a computer" and "stealing with a crowbar."

Swartz's lead defense attorney, Elliot Peters, also had harsh words for the US attorney managing the case. He mourned the fact that he would never be able to invoke Boston Harbor and the American Revolution during his closing arguments.

Since his death, the Swartz family has laid blame for his demise at the feet of overzealous federal prosecutors. Indeed, the prosecutors arguably lost all sense of perspective with this case, insisting during plea negotiations that Swartz admit guilt to all charges and serve a stint in prison.

During a heart-wrenching eulogy, Swartz's father Robert accused MIT of betraying "all of its basic principles" by pursuing the case. "Aaron was pushed to his death by his government and the most prominent technical institution in the world," he mourned.

The service concluded with the traditional Jewish funeral prayer, the El maley rakhamim:

O God, full of compassion, Thou who dwellest on high! Grant perfect rest beneath the sheltering wings of Thy presence, among the holy and pure who shine as the brightness of the firmament unto the soul of Aaron Swartz who has gone unto eternity. Lord of mercy, bring him under the cover of Thy wings, and let his soul be bound up in the bond of eternal life. Be God's possession, and may his repose be peace. Amen.

Let it be so. Peace to the memory of Aaron Swartz.

Swartz's family invites those who knew him or whose lives were touched by his work in some way to visit his memorial website at rememberaaronsw.com and leave a remembrance or photo. Those desiring to make a memorial contribution in Aaron's name can do so via GiveWell. There's also an open repository on GitHub. National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-8255