The late New York Court of Appeals Judge Paul Feinman

Paul Feinman liked a late afternoon coffee. He made holiday cookies for employees, too. And even after becoming one of the top judges in New York, he was still generous with his time.

Those were a few of the memories shared on Tuesday by those who knew Feinman during a tribute to the former Court of Appeals judge, who died this spring at the age of 61.

In lower Manhattan, under the high ceilings of a third-floor courtroom, friends and top judicial officials gathered in person to remember the man who etched his name into New York's history as the first openly gay judge on the state's top court.

To those who knew him, Feinman was a humble jurist who carried a kind soul and a steadfast commitment to the law. They lauded Feinman not just as a trailblazer for LGBTQ lawyers and judges, but as a champion of LGBTQ rights.

"He inspired people. But not just by what he achieved, but by the person that he was along the way," said Justice Joanne M. Winslow of the Appellate Division, Fourth Department.

Feinman was a mentor to many and had a unique ability to make a person feel like he'd known them for years, she said.

"And that was because your issue, and you, matter to him. Because it did matter to him. He wasn't faking it. That wasn't Paul," she said.

Feinman abruptly retired from the Court of Appeals in March over health concerns. He died just over a week after the retirement announcement.

Feinman's husband told The New York Times that the cause was acute myeloid leukemia.

Those who worked closely with Feinman remembered him as a friend and colleague as well as a  pioneer in the New York courts.

"Paul was my best friend and losing him has been one of the greatest hardships that I have had to endure," said Deborah A. Kaplan, who is the administrative judge of New York County Supreme Court's civil term. "There is not a day that goes by that I don't think about Paul. That I don't reach for my phone to call him or to text him. That I don't wait to hear from him, wait to hear for that voice that always made me feel better."

Julia Herd spent more than two decades working with Feinman and served as his principal law clerk at the Court of Appeals.

"I felt like we were part of a team representing the LGBT community in the court system," she said.

Taking Feinman's place on the state's top bench is Judge Anthony Cannataro, who was nominated by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and confirmed by the state Senate.

Cannataro, who lives in New York City with his husband, is the second openly LGBTQ judge to be elevated to the state's top court.

"Diversity, equity and inclusion in the seats of government are ever closer for traditionally marginalized New Yorkers because of his legacy," Cannataro said.