Luke Batty was showing confidence, integrity and maturity beyond his 11 years before his life came to a violent end.
Friends and family remembered a "little star" with an infectious smile at a funeral service lit up with yellow - Luke's favourite colour.
Luke's yellow casket was adorned with bright flowers and a stuffed Spongebob Squarepants toy as it sat in front of the chapel at Flinders Christian Community College at Tyabb on Friday.
Luke's grandmother Josephine Batty, who lives in England, told the congregation her time with her grandson, and his mum Rosie Batty, was precious.
"We treasured our times with Rosie and Luke," she said.
"We were so blessed to spend five weeks with him last Christmas and January."
She lamented that Luke would never grow up to be an astronaut, but said he would live on as a "twinkling little star".
Draped in a yellow jacket, Luke's mother Rosie Batty read Psalm 23.
"Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me," she read.
Greg Partridge, the head of the college's junior school, said Luke was a confident boy with a positive impact on students around him.
"I know teachers found it hard to discipline him when they were laughing at what he had just done," he said.
"You will be missed dearly Luke."
The Reverend David Rietveld said Luke was a young man of integrity, faith and hope.
"Luke would seek to ask not just the simple or the surface questions, he would ask the deep and the profound questions about life, about God, about meaning," he said.
"His integrity drove him to understand him what life was about."
Mr Rietveld praised the work of Ms Batty against domestic violence as a positive to emerge from a terrible tragedy.
Luke was brutally beaten and stabbed to death by his father Greg Anderson in front of horrified children and parents after cricket training at Tyabb on the Mornington Peninsula last week.
The knife-wielding Mr Anderson was then fatally shot by police. The 54-year-old was wanted on outstanding arrest warrants but police who questioned him about several assaults in late January were unaware.
Luke's death has again highlighted the problem of domestic violence, with the state's police chief saying the 11-year-old was sadly one of thousands of children who are stuck in a cycle of family violence.
Luke's school is still coming to terms with his death, the college's executive principal Jill Healey said.
"The grief is quite deep," she told reporters.
"At this stage we're a bit numb still.
"We have really been blessed to have the young man as part of our community."
Students and members of Luke's scout group and cricket club formed a guard of honour as his casket was carried out of the chapel to the sounds of Twist and Shout by Bruce Springsteen.
As they left, mourners were given yellow wristbands bearing one of Luke's favourite expressions - "joy to the world".
