A funeral service will be held this morning for former Hawai'i Gov. William Francis "Bill" Quinn, with eulogies from friends and colleagues.

By design the family has planned it to be upbeat and brief, but eyes may tear up when one of Quinn's sons, Christopher, steps forward to sing his father's favorite ballad, "Danny Boy."

The public is invited to the service, which begins at 10 a.m. at Star of the Sea Church. An afternoon burial at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific will be private, however.

A Republican, Quinn was appointed territorial governor in 1957 and was Hawai'i's first elected governor after statehood in 1959. He died Monday. He was 87.

Quinn was a tenor who loved to sing.

"The kids wanted a male singer to do 'Danny Boy' and Christopher volunteered," said Quinn's widow, Nancy Quinn. "He doesn't sing like Bill, but he plays music all the time."

Christopher, one of Quinn's five sons and two daughters, is a 56-year-old stone mason and coffee farmer from Kona.

"It's just something that would be a joy for me to do," he said. "I am really happy to do that. I watched him singing for so many years."

Gov. Linda Lingle, the first Republican elected to the post since Quinn, will attend the funeral along with Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona, said Lingle spokesman Russell Pang.

The family did not want a state funeral for Quinn, choosing instead to remember him in the church where he was a member, Pang said.

Nancy Quinn said three short eulogies will last no more than 15 minutes.

"It will be upbeat because everybody had a happy feeling about Bill Quinn," she said.

Reach Mike Gordon at mgordon@honoluluadvertiser.com.