Remembering Maurice

It was a sad day Jan. 15 in Miami Beach, Fla., as about 200 family members and friends gathered for a private memorial service, to say goodbye to Maurice Gibb, who died unexpectedly Jan. 12 at the age of 53.

Barry Gibb, right, attends the service for his brother. During the service, which mixed humor and emotion, Maurice Gibb was remembered as a man who celebrated life.

Robin Gibb, left, and his wife, Dwina, arrive for the memorial service. During the memorial, Robin spoke briefly about his love for his twin brother. Also attending were Maurice's wife, Yvonne, and their grown son and daughter.

Entertainer Michael Jackson, in this image from video, was among the mourners. Jackson has been a friend of the Gibb family for many years.

K.C., whose real name is Harry Wayne Casey, of the musical group KC and the Sunshine Band arrives at the funeral home with an unidentified companion.

Unidentified mourners embrace as others leave a funeral home in Miami Beach, Fla. Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2003 after attending a service for the former member of the Bee Gees. The man wearing a kilt, left, is Stephen Gibb, son of Barry Gibb,and a nephew of Maurice.

Here, the brothers Gibb are shown performing in 1979. Maurice, at left, died Sunday, Jan. 12, at the age of 53 after doctors performed emergency surgery for an intestinal blockage.

The Bee Gees pose at the American Music Awards in this Jan. 13, 1979, file photo. The brothers Gibb, from left, Barry, Maurice, and Robin, won awards for favorite popular group and favorite soul album for "Saturday Night Fever."

The Bee Gees, from left, Robin, Barry and Maurice Gibb, attend a party following the Hollywood premiere of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" in this July 31, 1978 file photo.

The Bee Gees, Robin, left, Barry, center and Maurice Gibb make their acceptance speeches after their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio in a May 6, 1997, file photo.

Recording artist Andy Gibb, left, his brothers, Maurice, center, and Robin, right, pose at a news conference in New York, in this Jan. 4, 1979 file photo.

Maurice is not the only Gibb who died too young. Baby brother Andy Gibb, at left, who had a successful solo career, died of a heart infection in 1988. He was only 30 years old.

The Bee Gees were still performing together in 1997. Barry and Robin vowed to continue as a band, even without their brother, who played bass and keyboards. "The Bee Gees will not stop here. The Bee Gees will not disintegrate because we've lost Mo," said Barry.

Ed Franks puts candles on the star of Maurice Gibb on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles, Monday, Jan 13, 2003.

Candles adorn a memorial for the late Maurice Gibb on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Fans joined surviving members of the Bee Gees in mourning the death of their brother and bandmate.

Friends of Maurice Gibb sit at their regular table at Jimmy's East Side Diner in Miami, where an empty chair and coffee mug stood as an impromptu memorial to Maurice. The owner of the diner said Gibb and his friends from a local paintball club came to the restaurant almost daily. At his memorial service, pictures of Maurice and his family hung from the walls, along with the jacket in which he used to play paintball.