'We're all going to miss her': Shooting victim Celestine Chaney mourned by 300 at funeral

Ms. Chaney, a mother and grandmother of nine who died a week after turning 65, was remembered for her kindness and the joy she brought to others at Elim Christian Fellowship in the Grider-Leroy neighborhood.

"She was a beautiful mother," said Wayne Jones Sr., the lone child to a single mother, as he described a challenging upbringing marked by "unconditional love."

"We'll miss her. We're all going to miss her," Jones said. "But this is one ride we can't go with her. She's got to take this one alone, but I wish I could go with her just to protect her. But I can't. I love her truly, and life will never be the same."

Ms. Chaney was shopping for shrimp, strawberries and shortcake cups at the Jefferson Street supermarket when she was shot attempting to flee to the back of the store by an 18-year-old shooter dressed in body armor and clutching a high-powered rifle. 

JoAnn Daniels, Chaney's older sister who was with her, told The Buffalo News last week that 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.

Ms. Chaney grew up on Hickory Street and graduated Fosdick Masten Girls Vocational High School. She made suits at M. Wile and Co. and baseball caps at New Era Cap Co.

She was an avid card player and longtime member of the weekly Queen of Hearts social club, playing games of bingo, tunk or pitty-pat.

Ms. Chaney was an active member of Calvary Baptist Church through participation in the Dorcas Circle Women's Ministry, as well as at Elim Christian Fellowship, where she was a member of the ESTHER Project Women's Ministry.

She was a breast cancer survivor who also overcame multiple brain aneurysms. 

"She had a radiant smile that captured a room, and a spirit that exemplified resilient strength," said Senior Pastor T. Anthony Bronner, in remarks shared by Minister Ahmad K. Randall.

"Her contagious smile, her compassionate prayer and her gentle and sweet presence will forever grace our memory and the history of our sanctuary," he said.

Granddaughter Charon Reed said Ms. Chaney "was a sweet person who really loved her family and loved to shop.

"She was funny, too, a jokester who could be a super silly person. She was a great grandmother."