As investigators press ahead with an intense search for the killer of a famed real estate agent, Linda Stein, her friends and family gathered today to bid her farewell at a funeral service on the Upper West Side.

Stein’s daughter, Samantha Lee Wells, ended her eulogy at the Riverside Memorial Chapel on Amsterdam Avenue by describing why she and her sister went to observe their mother’s body the evening before the funeral.

“I had to see her one last time. To see what this bastard did to her,” Mrs. Wells said. “We stood there and promised justice will be served. We won’t stop until justice is served.”

Stein was bludgeoned to death on Tuesday inside her Fifth Avenue apartment. Mrs. Wells said it took funeral home workers three hours to prepare her mother’s disfigured body, a process that usually takes only an hour.

Real estate moguls and rockers filled the chapel, somberly listening to eulogists remember Stein, who became one of the city’s most successful real estate agents after spending years as a manager in the music business.

Mrs. Wells’ pledge was the only reference to the killing during the service, which was otherwise a tribute to Stein’s life.

Stein’s daughter, Mandy Stein, held back tears as she told the crowd her mother’s mantra: “Life is a banquet and most suckers are starving.”

Other eulogists included Stein’s ex-husband, Seymour Stein, who is often credited with launching Madonna’s career and Danny Fields, with whom Stein co-managed the influential punk rock band, The Ramones.

“I know my life will never be the same,” Mr. Stein said.

Stein’s only granddaughter, two-year-old Dora Wells, also spoke. “I love you Nanna. I miss you Nanna,” she said.

Other attendees at the funeral included the wife of guitarist Mick Jones, Anne Jones, and the wife of the musician Sting, Trudy Styler.