Hannah Kaye, center, the daughter of shooting victim Lori Kaye, sits on the ground with her aunt, Randi Grossman, as the last shovels of dirt cover her mother’s grave during funeral services, Monday, April 29, 2019, in San Diego. Lori Kaye was killed when a man opened fire during Passover service on April 27 inside a synagogue near San Diego, as worshippers celebrated the last day of a major Jewish holiday.
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Hannah Kaye, the daughter of shooting victim Lori Kaye, second from right, hugs a family member as her father, Howard, left, looks on during funeral services, Monday, April 29, 2019, in San Diego. Lori Kaye was killed when a man opened fire during Passover service on April 27 inside a synagogue near San Diego, as worshippers celebrated the last day of a major Jewish holiday.
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Hannah Kaye, the daughter of shooting victim Lori Kaye, center, holds the hand of her father, Howard Kaye, as Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein speaks during funeral services, Monday, April 29, 2019, in San Diego. Lori Kaye was killed when a man opened fire two days earlier inside a synagogue near San Diego, as worshippers celebrated the last day of a major Jewish holiday.
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Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein speaks during funeral services for shooting victim Lori Kaye as Kaye’s daughter Hannah, second from left, holds onto her father, Howard, Monday, April 29, 2019, in San Diego. Lori Kaye was killed when a man opened fire two days earlier inside a synagogue near San Diego, as worshippers celebrated the last day of a major Jewish holiday.
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Elan Carr, the United States Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating anti-Semitism, speaks Monday, April 29, 2019, next to a photo of Lori Kaye, who was killed Saturday when a gunman opened fire inside the Chabad of Poway synagogue, during a memorial service for Kaye in Poway, Calif.
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Candles burn, Monday, April 29, 2019, in front of a photo of Lori Kaye during a memorial service for her in Poway, Calif. Kaye was was killed Saturday when a gunman opened fire inside the Chabad of Poway synagogue.
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Oscar Stewart, left, walks past a photo of Lori Kaye, Monday, April 29, 2019, as he attends a memorial service for Kaye in Poway, Calif. Stewart was worshipping at the Chabad of Poway synagogue Saturday when a gunman opened fire, killing Kaye.
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Yisroel Goldstein, Rabbi of Chabad of Poway, speaks Monday, April 29, 2019, during the memorial service for Lori Kaye, who is pictured at left, in Poway, Calif. Kaye was was killed Saturday when a gunman opened fire inside the Chabad of Poway synagogue. Goldstein was injured in the shooting.
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Yisroel Goldstein, at podium, Rabbi of Chabad of Poway, speaks Monday, April 29, 2019, during a memorial service for Lori Kaye, in Poway, Calif. Kaye was was killed Saturday when a gunman opened fire inside the Chabad of Poway synagogue, and Goldstein was injured in the shooting.
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Yisroel Goldstein, Rabbi of Chabad of Poway, reacts while speaking Monday, April 29, 2019, at the memorial service for Lori Kaye, who is pictured at left, in Poway, Calif. Kaye was was killed Saturday when a gunman opened fire inside the Chabad of Poway synagogue. Goldstein was injured in the shooting.
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A photo of Lori Kaye, who was killed Saturday when a gunman opened fire inside the Chabad of Poway synagogue, is displayed Monday, April 29, 2019, at left, during Kaye’s funeral in Poway, Calif., as her daughter Hannah speaks at right.
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Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, right, comforts Almog Peretz, center, Monday, April 29, 2019, as they attend the funeral for Lori Kaye, who was killed Saturday when a gunman opened fire inside the Chabad of Poway synagogue in Poway, Calif. Goldstein lost a finger in the shooting, and Peretz was also injured.
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Yisroel Goldstein, Rabbi of Chabad of Poway, holds a yellow rose as he speaks Monday, April 29, 2019, at the funeral for Lori Kaye, who is pictured at left, in Poway, Calif. Kaye, who was was killed Saturday when a gunman opened fire inside the Chabad of Poway synagogue, had given Goldstein the flower as part of a bouquet the day before the shooting, which also injured Goldstein.
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Menachem Levanoni, right, president of the Chabad of Poway synagogue, speaks Monday, April 29, 2019, at the funeral for Lori Kaye, who was killed Saturday when a gunman opened fire inside the synagogue in Poway, Calif.
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Noya Dahan, 8, attends the funeral for Lori Kaye, Monday, April 29, 2019, at the Chabad of Poway synagogue in Poway, Calif. Dahan was injured Saturday when a gunman opened fire inside the synagogue.
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Almog Peretz, center, sits near his niece, Noya Dahan, 8, lower right, Monday, April 29, 2019, as they attend the funeral for Lori Kaye, who was killed Saturday when a gunman opened fire inside the Chabad of Poway synagogue in Poway, Calif. Peretz and Dahan were both injured in the shooting.
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Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, right, greets an attendee at the funeral for Lori Kaye, who was killed Saturday when a gunman opened fire inside the Chabad of Poway synagogue in Poway, Calif., Monday, April 29, 2019. Goldstein lost a finger in the shooting.
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POWAY, Calif. – Lori Kaye is believed to have shielded her synagogue’s rabbi from a gunman’s bullets in a heroic move that epitomizes the life she led, her family and friends said Monday as they remembered a woman dedicated to spreading kindness and helping others no matter what.
Kaye’s daughter, Hannah, said at her memorial service that she knows her mother would have forgiven the man who took her life Saturday when he opened fire during Passover service at the Chabad of Poway, in this suburban city north of San Diego.
The memorial service for Kaye, 60, drew hundreds, including the three people wounded in the attack, federal and state lawmakers, a U.S. State Department envoy on anti-Semitism and a representative of the Israeli government, along with local city and police leaders.
Hannah, 22, said her mother would have relished seeing such a large crowd. She loved people, opening her home on Jewish holidays and making grand feasts.
Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, right, speaks during funeral services for shooting victim Lori Kaye as Kaye’s daughter Hannah, second from left, hugs her father, Howard, Monday, April 29, 2019, in San Diego. Lori Kaye was killed when a man opened fire two days earlier inside a synagogue near San Diego, as worshippers celebrated the last day of a major Jewish holiday.
Gregory Bull/Associated Press
Kaye was known to drive hours to visit a sick friend. She bought six months’ worth of medication for someone without insurance. She left her freshly baked challah in mail boxes and on doorsteps all over town and would buy extra bagels and coffee during her morning routine to be able to give them away, her family and friends said.
Her mission was to help others enjoy life, just as she did. She gave to numerous charities.
That’s why Kaye’s daughter Hannah said she knows in her heart that her mother has forgiven the 19-year-old man accused of killing her. She would have responded with love.
“Her light has reached all crevices of this planet,” Hannah Kaye said.
Hannah Kaye said she would miss singing in the car with her mother and dancing in the kitchen. She told her before she died that she was her best friend.
“Everyone was her sister, everyone was her trusted confidante,” Hannah Kaye said. “Everyone was her friend.”
Hannah Kaye, the daughter of shooting victim Lori Kaye, center, holds the hand of her father, Howard Kaye, during funeral services, Monday, April 29, 2019, in San Diego. Lori Kaye was killed when a man opened fire several days earlier inside a synagogue near San Diego, as worshippers celebrated the last day of a major Jewish holiday.
Gregory Bull/Associated Press
The synagogue’s rabbi, Yisroel Goldstein, lost one of his fingers in the shooting and comforted worshippers with his hand wrapped in blue bandages. Noya Dahan, 8, and her uncle Almog Peretz both suffered leg wounds in the attack but were released from the hospital and honored Kaye on Monday.
The U.S. State Department’s new envoy on anti-Semitism told the congregation that her death will not be in vain. He said the Trump administration is committed to fighting evil wherever it lurks.
“I’m here to say we are at war with these people,” Elan Carr said, vowing to fight anti-Semitism in “every city in the United States.”
Kaye devoted her life to her Jewish faith and living its values of generosity and caring for others, her friends and family said. She kept a pole in their front yard with the words “May peace prevail on Earth” in several different languages, including Hebrew and Spanish.
“She had a soul that was greater than any of us ever could believe,” said her husband, Dr. Howard Kaye.
Dr. Kaye performed CPR on his wife after she was shot. He said she did not suffer.
