Westerly — It was their last chance to say goodbye.

Hundreds of people braved dipping temperatures and the threat of snow Sunday night to stand on the Westerly High School track and remember Dorian Murray, the 8-year old Westerly boy whose one wish was to be famous before he died of cancer.

Dorian’s parents, Melissa and Chris Murray, invited people to the candlelight memorial in a Facebook post after their son died March 8.

“It hits home,” said Mark Collins, of Westerly, as he sat on the bleachers, looking over the heads of people who had traveled from multiple states. “The way people got so involved with this child.”

When Dorian and his parents decided to discontinue his treatment in January, the third grader said his only wish was to be famous.

Local residents — then fans across the world — obliged.

Dorian got his own hashtag, #dstrong, offers to fly to China for a visit to the Great Wall, and coverage from CBS News and the BBC.

In January, Dorian had dinner with Patriots star Rob Gronkowski and took a limousine to Gillette Stadium for a playoff game.

He became an honorary Rhode Island State Police trooper and watched a beluga whale at the Mystic Aquarium carry a sign saying “#dstrong.”

“It’s not just his family who will miss him, it’s everyone,” Melissa Murray said in a tearful speech. “From the moment he took his first breath, we knew he would be different,” she said. “We knew he would be a special boy.”

Jaqueline ‘Gigi’ Doty, Dorian’s grandmother, remembered her grandson’s grace and sense of humor.

They had been out to dinner recently when some people recognized Dorian and wanted to talk, Doty said after Sunday’s ceremony.

Doty asked that they be left alone, but Dorian was happy to oblige.

“He goes, ‘Gigi, it’s OK, they can have my autograph.”

The local and international attention made it easier for Dorian and his family to get through a difficult time, Doty said.

“I think it helped,” she said.

The short Sunday ceremony included original music by Rachael Fusaro and prayer from Pastor Mark Benson of the Joy Fellowship Assembly of God Church in Bradford, R.I., where the Murrays are members.

"Dorian, my sweet, sweet boy," Melissa Murray said as she faced the crowd. "Our hearts hurt so much, but they are filled with so much love for you."

The crowd moved in closer, as many of the people in “D strong” T-shirts, hats and sweatshirts began to cry.

Dan Spencer of Westerly said his young son was good friends with Dorian.

He said watching Dorian live through cancer inspired him to look at his own life differently.

"Nothing that could happen is as bad as what that little boy had to do," Spencer said. "It kind of made (other things) seem like nothing."

Fans of Dorian, from young children to grandmothers, lingered long after the songs were over and a cold wind began to pick up.

“I don’t think being famous was really what he wanted,” Doty said. “This was his job, to bring people together. It was his magic touch."

m.shanahan@theday.com