NASSAU, Bahamas - Anna Nicole Smith's lawyer-turned-companion recalled her in worshipful terms Friday at a memorial in the Bahamas, where a bitter custody dispute broke out after the reality TV star's death in Florida a year ago.

Howard Stern, speaking to dozens of people gathered at the cemetery where Smith and her son are buried, said there was "nobody stronger, nobody smarter, nobody more compassionate, nobody funnier and certainly nobody more beautiful" than the former model and actress.

Smith died Feb. 8, 2007, in Hollywood, Fla., from an overdose of prescription drugs. The former Playboy playmate, model and potential heir to an oil fortune was 39.

"We loved her. We respected her," Stern said. "I worshipped her and I still do."

Smith and Stern moved to the Bahamas, where they lived in a gated, oceanfront home on New Providence Island and she gave birth to a daughter, Dannielynn, in September 2006.

Smith's death set off a fight over where she should be buried and who would get custody of Dannielynn - Stern, ex-boyfriend Larry Birkhead or Virgie Arthur, the former model's mother. Custody of the girl eventually went to Birkhead after DNA tests proved he was the father.

Birkhead and Dannielynn attended the memorial service at the pink-walled Lakeview Memorial Gardens along with dozens of Smith's friends from the United States and the Bahamas.