Capt. Nichola Goddard was remembered by her father as "a good soldier who died a soldier's death" Friday, as close to 1,000 people packed a church in Calgary for her funeral.

Goddard, 26, was killed in Afghanistan on May 17 when the light armoured vehicle she was riding in was struck by a rocket propelled grenade during an ambush by suspected Taliban insurgents.

She is the first female Canadian soldier to be killed in combat.

The flag-draped casket carrying Goddard's body arrived at Calgary's St. Barnabas Anglican Church, carried on an artillery gun carriage and accompanied by a military Guard of Honour and honourary pallbearers.

Close to 1,000 mourners packed the church for the ceremony.

Her husband, Jason Beam, described how the couple met on the second day of basic training and how their life together had been an "excellent adventure" ever since.

"She introduced herself as Goddard and I responded 'I'm Beam.' I never thought that two-second conversation would develop into the relationship it did," Beam said.

He remembered camping trips the couple took, walking their dogs together, and described her as his best friend.

"I'm going to miss you so much Nic," Beam said. "I still can't believe you're gone. I'm going to miss your smile, your laugh and your company. But most of all I'm going to miss having my best friend to share my life with. I love you."

The funeral is being held in the same church where Goddard and Beam were married three-and-a-half years ago.

Her father, Tim Goddard, described her as a much loved daughter, wife and sister.

"Yours was a short life but a good one. You had so much promise, so much potential, and the world is a far lesser place with your passing."

He also paid tribute to her adventurous spirit.

"As a soldier she lived in Manitoba, she spent many months in Gagetown in New Brunswick, and she fought forest fires and conducted avalanche control in British Columbia. She has lived and worked from sea to sea. And the only province she never got to visit was the Yukon," he said.

Goddard also announced that a memorial scholarship has been created in his daughter's name. It will be obtainable through the University of Calgary, and will be available to citizens of Papua New Guinea, where Goddard was born, Afghanistan where she was killed, and to Canadians of First Nations, Inuit or Metis descent.

Gov't ban criticized

Goddard also took a moment to comment on the Conservative government's recent decision to ban media from repatriation ceremonies at Canadian military bases.

He said he was troubled by the decision to keep media "outside the wire."

"I cannot support the privacy decision. There was room on the tarmac for a military videographer and a still photographer. They did not intrude on our grief. I can see no reason why a shared feed arrangement could not be made with one television camera, one press photographer allowed at the ceremony, and instructed to stay within a certain area."

He said he hoped people across Canada and around the world would be able to take part in his daughter's funeral via television and Internet broadcasts of the ceremony.

In Victoria, B.C. on Friday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper suggested a communication problem led to the media not covering Goddard's repatriation, although his government had issued a ban of such media coverage.

"I'm troubled to hear that," he said. "I had given fairly clear instructions that when bodies were to come home, that families should be consulted and if all families agreed on making that particular ceremony public, then I thought our government should have no difficulty with that."

"I'm not sure what happened in this case. I spoke with Mr. Goddard this week. He didn't raise the issue with me so I didn't realize there is a problem."

Burial

Goddard's body is expected to be buried in the National Memorial Cemetery in Ottawa next month.

The cemetery was established in 2001 at the urging of Gen. Romeo Dallaire, now a senator, who believed Canada needed something akin to the U.S. military burial grounds at Arlington, Va.

However, the decision to bury Goddard in Ottawa was made because of its central location, not because of her role in history, said a spokesperson for the Goddard family.

The spokesperson said the family is scattered across the globe, and has friends and relatives across the country.

Any Canadian soldier who is killed in the line of duty or who has been honourably discharged may be buried at the National Memorial Cemetery.

Including Goddard, 16 Canadian soldiers have now been killed in Afghanistan since 2002.

The ambush that claimed Goddard's life occurred about 24 kilometres west of Kandahar, after Canadian troops were called in to support Afghan troops fighting insurgents in the Panjwai region.