More than 70 people were expected at the funeral of Cyril Wilkinson, a former plumber and keen sportsman, at Skipton Crematorium on Wednesday.
Mr Wilkinson died last week, aged 84.
His son, Carl Wilkinson, said it was his dad's natural charm that made him gain so many friends, together with his humour and quick witted nature.
He added: "A lot of people will know him from going in the pubs and clubs in Colne and Foulridge. He had a fantastic sense of humour and was always very quick witted and sharp.
"He would always give you sound advice and he would always do someone a good turn rather than a bad one."
Mr Wilkinson was born in Nelson Street, Colne, in 1925, and grew up in the town, attending Lord Street Primary School and Colne Grammar School.
"It was one of his school teachers who got him interested in rugby union and he got quite good at it. He was a bit of a legend up at Colne and Nelson Rugby Club and he played well into his 40s," said his son.
When he was 17, Mr Wilkinson volunteered to join the RAF and trained to be a navigator, carrying out most of his flying in Canada.
He also studied at Southampton University, but was later posted to a maintenance unit in Stafford.
"It was there that someone spotted him for trials at Salford Rugby League, but he was not sure if he was good enough and he preferred the code with rugby union," said Mr Wilkinson.
When the Second World War ended, Mr Wilkinson returned to Colne and joined the family business - F.Wilkinson and Son plumbers - with his father, Fred.
In 1951, Mr Wilkinson had a busy year. He married his wife, Runa, and Colne and Nelson Rugby Club lost only one game that season. After that, he was made captain for 1952/53, during the time his daughter, Anne, was born.
His son said: "He had a lot of circles being a plumber and he organised quite a few plumbing trips up and down the country in the 60s and 70s.
"His job meant he would visit a lot of homes and he had a good reputation.
"You can tell he had a very full and active life by the number of people he knew and was friendly with. We've even had a phonecall from Australia."
In 1975, Mr Wilkinson and his family moved to Foulridge, where he would spend his later years in Breeze Close.
"He was very independent and determined to make a go of it in his flat. If there was any sport on the television, he would watch it and he was one of those people, any sport he played, he would be good at it. He always put 100% into whatever he did."
Mr Wilkinson thanked the nurses on Ward 5 at Airedale General Hospital, where his father was "extremely well looked after in his final months".
He added: "The family would like to thank everyone who came to the funeral and gave him a justified send off."