Brandon Crisp's casket is carried out of St. Mary's Church in Barrie, Ont., on Friday. (Steven D'Souza/CBC)

About 1,700 people packed a church in Barrie, Ont., on Friday for the funeral of a teenager who ran away from home following a dispute over video games.

Many of Brandon Crisp's friends and classmates carried yellow roses, or wore yellow scarves and ties as they entered St. Mary's Church. Yellow ribbons had been posted around the community as a symbol of hope during the three-week search for Brandon, who went missing on Thanksgiving Day.

Family friend Gordon Sweetzer delivered the eulogy during the traditional Roman Catholic mass, reading letters to Brandon written by his father, mother and two sisters.

"A huge hole has been left in our hearts with your passing, son," said Sweetzer, reading a letter from Brandon's mom, Angelika. The letter went on to say that she would miss most "the special time you and I shared talking at the end of the day before I kissed you goodnight."

In her letter, his sister Natasha Crisp said, "Heaven was probably laughing" because of her brother's hilarious accents and impersonations. She said she found comfort knowing Brandon "was in some VIP section up in heaven where all the beautiful, sweet, smart children go."

Twin sister Samantha wrote in her letter that Brandon was "my other half and half of me will always be missing without him."

Crisp, 15, ran away from home after arguing with his parents about the amount of time he spent playing an Xbox video game, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. His parents had taken away the game console because they feared he was addicted.

Teams of searchers combed the area for three weeks until his body was found by hunters in a farmer's field north of Barrie. Autopsy results showed he died from injuries to his chest consistent with having fallen from a tree.

One of Brandon's classmates, Mike Power, said the funeral was sad, but also a moving memorial to his friend's life.

"People need to keep in mind that he was a really wonderful person, and he had 15 years and a really good life," he said. "And although it is very sad … it is a celebration of his life."

Family's courage praised

The principal of St. Joseph's High School, where Brandon attended classes, said he was very moved by the strength of the boy's family.

"I really felt such a pride for them that they could each write a letter to their deceased son and have that letter read aloud during the funeral mass. I thought that took tremendous courage to do that," said Matt McCann.

Many of Brandon's classmates will attend a reception hosted by the Crisps later in the day, said McCann, who said there is a sense of sadness and seriousness at the school.

"I think the students really were very cognizant of what was going on and they certainly appreciated … what the family's gone through … and what Brandon had gone through."

Speaking at a news conference Thursday, the teenager's father, Steve Crisp, said he hopes his son's story will bring families closer together.

"Although it is hard to understand the death of a child who had so much to give, we believe the reason for Brandon’s story … was to make us realize that love and life are never to be taken for granted."

His parents plan to start a foundation to help underprivileged kids play sports rather than video games.

A donation account has been set up at the CIBC as the Brandon Crisp trust account. Donations can be made at any of the bank's branches across Canada.

With files from the Canadian Press