HOUSTON—In a tribute mixed with praise and personal anecdotes, pioneering heart surgeon Michael DeBakey was remembered at a memorial service Wednesday as not only a brilliant physician and medical innovator but also a friend and humanitarian. Many of the medical professionals among the 1,800 in attendance wore their surgical scrubs or white coats to honor the father of modern heart surgery, whose body also was dressed in doctor’s garb. DeBakey died Friday at the age of 99.

During the two-hour service at a Catholic church in Houston, friends and colleagues detailed DeBakey’s rise and called him one of the greatest doctors ever. Intermingled with those accolades were heartfelt stories of DeBakey’s personal life, everything from his love of gumbo to his learning to play the clarinet in three months to his baby-sitting abilities.

“Dr. DeBakey is irreplaceable. There will never be another one like him,” said Dr. Bobby Alford, chancellor of the Baylor College of Medicine, which counts DeBakey as its first president.

The executive vice president of The Methodist Hospital, DeBakey’s home hospital for 60 years, noted DeBakey’s impressive list of patients, which included the Duke of Windsor, the Shah of Iran, King Hussein of Jordan and presidents Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon.

DeBakey’s many accomplishments over his more than 70-year career include: inventing a major component of the heart-lung machine, which ushered in the era of open-heart surgery; developing artificial hearts and heart pumps to assist patients waiting for transplants; and helping create more than 70 surgical instruments.

DeBakey, a soldier during World War II, is scheduled to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia on Friday.

On Tuesday, DeBakey’s body lay in repose in Houston City Hall at the request of his family. Officials said it is the first time a Houston resident was given that honor.