MADISON, Wis. -- Hundreds of mourners turned out Tuesday to remember Wisconsin Agriculture Secretary Rod Nilsestuen, who drowned last week while swimming in Lake Superior.

Nilsestuen was remembered at Tuesday's memorial service at Bethel Lutheran Church in Madison as an affable, compassionate and open-minded man -- as well as a trickster with a sense of humor.

Gov. Jim Doyle joined colleagues, friends and family in paying respects to Nilsestuen. Doyle said Nilsestuen, who took the job as agriculture secretary job in 2003, "had a big, big vision."

"I believe that when the history is written, that there will be no doubt that Rod Nilsestuen will be listed as one of the great agricultural leaders in the history of the state of Wisconsin," Doyle said.

Mourners shared their memories of a man who was shaped by and committed to the land he was raised on.

"That he loved the land is without question, and that he leaves us all in a better position to treat the land and people around us in a better manner is also without question," said Bill Berry, friend of Nilsestuen.

He kept company with state and federal officials, but those who worked with him said Nilsestuen's commitment to the average farmer was more important.

"Rod was not impressed by plaques on the wall but received his adrenaline from the satisfaction of helping others improve their economic and social condition," said Tom Lyon, a former colleague of Nilsestuen's at the Wisconsin Federation of Cooperatives.

But it is the person, not just the achievements, that those who knew him remember.

"This part of Dad, the very compassionate, kind and goofy man that will always be a part of my life, it is this man that I will always love, respect and adore," said son Ryan Nilsestuen.

And wife, Carol, read words Nilsestuen cherished as part of "The Land Remembers" by Ben Logan.

"That land is my genesis," she read. "I was born there, cradled by the land, and I am always there, even though I have been a wanderer."

Nilsestuen is survived by his wife, three sons and their families. The 62-year-old was volunteering with Habitat for Humanity last Wednesday in Michigan's Upper Peninsula when he went for a swim and drowned.

Flags were flown at half-staff Tuesday in honor of Nilsestuen.

Burial is Friday near Arcadia, where Nilsestuen was raised on a dairy farm on land his great-grandparents homesteaded in 1866.

Instead of flowers, the family said it would like donations to be sent to the Rod Nilsestuen Memorial Fund, care of the Nilsestuen Family at 329 South Street, DeForest, WI 53532. The money will go to Nilsestuen's favorite charities.