Dusty, glad there was a silver lining!
In fact, a couple of weeks ago I attended a memorial service for the wife of an old friend of mine who died of breast cancer at the young age of 51. I hadn't kept in touch with my buddy very much or our mutual friends.
And just like you, after the formal service which was massively sad, i bumped into one old friend after another and had more great hugs than I've had in 2 decades. At the reception, I went from one friend to the next to "catch up" and stayed way longer than I would've ever guessed.
When I think back, I still feel a little guilty about having such a damn good time while my buddy was in pieces but knowing him and his wife, they would be glad that the service brought us all back together again.
It makes me feel better to hear that you had a similar experience.