CAZENOVIA, Wis. -- Thousands of people packed Weston High School's gym on Wednesday morning for the funeral of the school's principal who was killed last week in a shooting there.

Slain principal John Klang's funeral was scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. at the school, which is located near Cazenovia. Klang was shot last Friday morning in the school's hallway, allegedly by one of his students.

Of the nearly 2,500 attendees who crowded into the school included students wearing Weston letter jackets and football jerseys, and Klang's family and friends. Gov. Jim Doyle and the state's first lady Jessica Doyle were also present as were several Amish families, WISC-TV reported. Cars converged on the tiny school building, filling farm fields before passengers filled the gym.

The funeral was tilted "A Celebration of Life," but a sense of deep grief and sadness were palpable at the quiet, somber event, WISC-TV reported.

Under an empty scoreboard and near a makeshift altar in the gym, a priest from Klang's Catholic church said that 49-year-old principal's death recalls the "brevity of life." He added that death isn't the end and told the crowd this was, "a time of testing and pain."

"Today ... even Heaven is sad," he said.

David Wermund, the Weston school board president, said that the husband and father of three was said to include all seven values taught in an eighth-grade class, including "role model."

Wermund said that Klang was a "real-life hero" who thought about his students first. Wermund said that it was fitting that Klang's last thoughts were of his students in that he allegedly tried to disarm the shooter, WISC-TV reported.

Outside the funeral, one student's car on Wednesday contained a message: "John Klang is my hero."

Wermund said that Klang was a simple man who enjoyed hunting, fishing and walking in the woods and would have been uncomfortable with the attention that's followed his death.

"We love you, John," Wermund said. "You were a good man."

Wermund told him that they'd all see him at "the big staff meeting in the sky someday."

The suspect in the shooting, Eric Hainstock, 15, has been charged with first-degree intentional homicide. According to the criminal complaint, Hainstock said that he was upset with Klang because the principal had disciplined him for having tobacco in the school the day before and teachers hadn't stopped a group of kids who had called him names.

Classes are scheduled to resume at the school on Thursday.

Hainstock remains behind bars and is being held on $750,000 bond. The Sauk County district attorney said that the teenager will be tried as an adult. If convicted, Hainstock could face life in prison.

Court Documents: Hainstock Was Allegedly Abused By Father

Court documents paint a grim picture of Eric Hainstock's home life as he was growing up.

When Hainstock's parents, Lisa and Shawn, divorced in 1995, a judge granted primary custody to Hainstock's father, saying that he provided a more stable environment. But, Shawn Hainstock was charged with physically abusing his son in 2001.

A criminal complaint said that the teenager told investigators that his father kicked him because he hadn't given the pets some water. He said that his father also hit him with a belt and a paddle that he called the "board of education," put hot sauce or hot peppers in his mouth as punishment for lying and swearing and threatened him with juvenile court and foster care.

Alan Hahn, who works on farms near the Hainstock home and has known the family for nearly a decade, said that when Eric would do something wrong, like leave a motorcycle helmet out overnight, he would have to run laps around the house for hours.

Hahn said that the boy spent as much time as possible with his grandparents to get away from his father.

Funeral Held Tuesday For Weston Student Killed In Crash

Hundreds of mourners gathered on Tuesday to remember a young honor student athlete who lost his life moments before the shooting occurred at his high school in Sauk County.

A funeral was held Erik Fichtel, 16, at St. Boniface Catholic Church in Lime Ridge.

Authorities said that Fichtel and Klang died in unrelated incidents. The teenager apparently lost control of his vehicle and missed a curve on his way to school.

Erik's father, Tim Fichtel, said that it really lifts the family's spirits that so many people care. An estimated 800 people attended the teen's visitation on Monday.

The Weston High junior was remembered as a football player, an honor student, an officer in Future Farmers of America and as a big brother to 12-year-old Patrick Fichtel.