Celestine Chaney recalled as loving mother, grandmother

"They sell those little cake cups, you cut the strawberries up, sprinkle sugar over them and leave in the refrigerator overnight," said Wayne Jones, Chaney's son. "The juice from the strawberries is poured in the cup, and you put whipped cream on top." 

The victims: What we know about those killed, injured in Tops shooting

Instead of leaving the supermarket with cake cups, the strawberries and the shrimp, Chaney, a loving and devoted 65-year-old mother and grandmother of six, found herself trying in vain to flee a shooter dressed in body armor and clutching a high-powered rifle. She was one of 10 people killed on the spot at the hands of an 18-year-old shooter espousing white supremacist views. 

Daniels said she never saw the shooter, but heard the sounds of the assault rifle going off as people were yelling to run to the back of the store.

"She fell and I thought she had got up and was behind me, but she wasn't behind me," Daniels said.  

Daniels went out the back door with the others, expecting her sister to appear any time. She learned of her sister's death later that day from an image on Facebook showing her sister lying dead on the floor.

"She was a breast cancer survivor and she survived aneurysms in her brain, and then she goes to Tops and gets shot," Daniels said.

Chaney grew up on Hickory Street on the East Side, and graduated Girls Vocational High School.  

She made suits for M. Wile and baseball caps at New Era Cap.

More than anything, she relished being a grandmother. Her grandchildren, ranging in age from 4 to 28, kept her more than occupied.

"She was the primary babysitter for all of them before they were old enough to go to school," Jones said.

Chaney also loved bingo and particularly liked going shopping, her son said.

Granddaughter Dominque Brown called Chaney "a little lady full of spunk."

"She was probably the sweetest person you could meet," Brown said. "Very loving, very giving, very kind."

Chaney was an avid church goer, attending Elim Christian Fellowship.

"She was a beautiful woman and I miss her dearly," Jones said.

"If people's moms are still around, just don't be too caught up in social media and the world to pick up the phone and talk to your mom, or your dad."

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