Kelly Ripa sang the praises of her dear friend, Dr. Frederic Brandt, at his memorial service at Lincoln Center in New York City on Thursday. Surrounded by more than 3,000 white orchids, she took the stage to pay tribute to the late cosmetic surgeon, who took his life on April 5th in his Coconut Grove, Florida home. He was 65.

The last of 11 speakers at the memorial, Kelly Ripa told the crowd how sad she was to be speaking of her friend in this manner.

“This is the saddest thing that I never thought I would have to do,” she said. “When I look out into this room I see so many beautiful faces and I realized that Fred is all around us. He is with all of us now.”

Kelly Ripa pays an emotional tribute to the late Dr. Fredric Brandt at his memorial: http://t.co/nNkVg2Vi5A pic.twitter.com/iBcAHiaVgk

— E! Online (@eonline) April 17, 2015

In addition to Kelly Ripa, Dr. Frederic Brandt treated celebrities including Madonna, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Stephanie Seymour, and Joy Behar. The View co-host spoke with People magazine about the late doctor.

How Joy Behar, Kelly Ripa and more reacted to the death of dermatologist Dr. Frederic Brandt: http://t.co/RQjv2ym61z pic.twitter.com/8zoTByLpcO

— Us Weekly (@usweekly) April 7, 2015

“He was so much fun,” she said. “We used to talk about Bette Davis all the time.”

“He was just a great person, a great friend,” Kelly Ripa said on Live! With Kelly and Michael. “He will be missed. I cannot tell you how much I will miss him. I’ll miss him every day of my life.”

Ripa shared a funny story about Frederic Brandt at the memorial, too.

She talked about suffering a break-out when she was scheduled to shoot a TV commercial. She called the doctor, who came to her rescue but made sure she knew he was on a very tight schedule and a solution had to be found very quickly so he could get back to his office.

“Then a group of male models disrobed and oiled up and suddenly Fred and I are ordering lunch,” she said. “We sat there with the door cracked open giggling like children. We laughed so much that day.”

“That is what I will remember the most about him: his laughter, his unabashed joy, his sense of humor, his kindness, his selflessness,” she said. “He gave us everything he had and there will never be another Fred Brandt.”

Kelly Ripa lost a dear friend with the untimely death of Dr. Brandt. Hopefully speaking such wonderful words about him at his memorial service will help her start to heal.