Hundreds of mourners have gathered in the Detroit suburb of Bloomfield Hills to pay their respects to Colleen Howe, wife of hockey great Gordie Howe.

A memorial service began Wednesday morning at St. Hugo of the Hills Church.

Colleen Howe died Friday at the age of 76 after battling Pick's disease, a rare form of dementia similar to Alzheimer's.

Known as "Mrs. Hockey," she promoted the sport and stood outside her husband's shadow through her charitable work and success as a businesswoman and author.

She was one of the first female sports agents and was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2000 for her work with youth hockey