BUFFALO N.Y. (WKBW) — As Buffalo approaches one year since the Tops mass shooting, the community is celebrating one of the ten lives lost on that terrible day.
77-year-old Pearl Young was described as a Christian who had tremendous faith in God and in service to help others.
Her son Damon Young said the family is doing all they can to not let the mass shooting define who their mother was.
"The thing with my family is that we don't want to allow last year, those two minutes, to define my mom's legacy. It was so much bigger," he said.
On the day of the shooting, Damon's phone rang with his mother's number. He said she wanted him to pick her up from the Tops on Jefferson Avenue. Yet, he shares shaking his head, he never made it.
"I miss my mom," Damon shared. "I do."
He said, with a big smile, his mom was a vibrant and awesome woman.
"If you met her you'd never forget her," Bishop of Church of God in Christ Church said.
On a mission to keep her spirit alive, members of the Church of God in Christ, the Fathers and Daily Bread organizations came together to give groceries to the community. Pearl's daughter said this is the perfect reflection of her mom.
"This is who my mother was. Like sometimes we get caught up in everything else and we have to go back to who a person is. and this serving the community - being there for other people that's who mom was," she said.
Damon said this just the beginning. He and many church members are working to build a soup kitchen and pantry in Pearl's honor.
"We're going to do everything we can to bring something permanent over here so that it's not just an outside weekly event or monthly event. It's an everyday thing," Damon said.
Pearl's daughter said her mother is probably smiling down at how they are carrying on her unforgettable legacy.
