Pearl Young put her faith to work

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

There, Pearl put her faith into action, said her brother-in-law, Bishop Glenwood H. Young, of the 2nd Church of God in Christ Western New York Jurisdiction.

When the church was in Central Park Plaza, she was a mainstay of its soup kitchen, helping feed people for 25 years, he said.

“Even if it was nothing but soup and bread, whatever she could do, she would just always avail herself to help the people," Young said. "That's what she was noted for. … Her life was full of giving.”

On Saturday, Pearl Young was one of 10 people killed at the Tops Market on Jefferson Avenue. At least three of the murdered were members of his jurisdiction, Young said.

He knew Pearl the longest, more than a half century. After a service Sunday at the Cheektowaga church, he shared memories of a woman who was officially his sister-in-law. After all these years, she was more like a sister, he said.

Born in Alabama, Young later relocated to New Haven, Conn. That’s where the bishop first met her, 56 years ago. He’d marry her sister. She married his brother, Oliver Young Jr., and move to Buffalo.

“In all aspects, she was a missionary,” he said. “She was a licensed missionary in the denomination, so she not only did speaking engagements, she was just involved in so many different things to help humanity. That was her goal in life, seemingly, whatever she could do to help someone.”

At the church, she taught Sunday school, led youth groups, and cooked big pots of vegetable soup – and told people to come get some.

“She was always baking cookies, baking cakes, doing stuff like that, cooking spaghetti,” he said. “Whatever she could do for people, she did that.”

She was also a veteran substitute teacher for the Buffalo Public Schools since 2002, most recently as a full-time substitute at Burgard High School. She also worked as a substitute teacher at Emerson School of Hospitality.

“She was always jolly," said sister-in-law Doris Page. "I don’t think I ever saw her mad.”

After a worship service on Saturday, Pearl’s sister dropped her off at Tops. She was going to get a few things and walk home.

After the news broke, the family started looking for Pearl, who wasn’t home. A visit to the reunification center was fruitless. Then the bishop saw Pearl’s son post to Facebook that his mother was gone, and he knew.

“You wake up in the morning and you're not expecting that,” he said. During the weeklong service they’d just completed, “she's so exuberant and excited, just so happy,” he said. “And then in less than a week she's gone.”

Coverage of this story is being provided free to all readers. Please support our journalism and the newsroom providing this coverage by subscribing to The Buffalo News.