CHICAGO – Hundreds of mourners and dignitaries including first lady Michelle Obama packed the funeral service Saturday for a Chicago teen whose killing catapulted her into the nation’s debate over gun violence.
Yet, one speaker after another remembered 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton not so much as a symbol but as a best friend, an excellent student with big dreams and simply a girl with a great smile and bubbly personality. They said she was a typical teen who wanted to borrow her friends’ clothes and who never left home without her lip gloss.
Additional Photos
And to her mother, Pendleton was the daughter she tried to keep busy so she’d be beyond the reach of the city’s seemingly endless gang violence.
“You don’t know how hard this really is, and those of you who do know how hard this really is, I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” Cleopatra Pendleton told the packed South Side church. “No mother, no father should ever have to experience this.”
Hadiya Pendleton was shot and killed Jan. 29 as she stood with friends at a neighborhood park about a mile from President Barack Obama’s Chicago home in the Kenwood neighborhood. Just days before, the band majorette was among the performers during events for Obama’s inauguration. Police say Pendleton was an innocent victim in a gang-related shooting.
Michelle Obama was among a long list of dignitaries who attended the funeral. She met privately with the family before the service and then accompanied the girl’s mother to the open casket at the front of the church.
Obama, who grew up on Chicago’s South Side, put her arm around Cleopatra Pendleton and patted her back. The woman threw her head back and wailed as the lid of her daughter’s flower-strewn casket was closed.
Moments later, the hundreds in attendance rose to their feet to begin the service with a round of applause “to the strength of this family.”
Some of Illinois’ most recognizable politicians and clergy were in attendance, including Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush and the Rev. Jesse Jackson. But Pendleton’s family said the service wouldn’t be political — it would be a time to remember a girl who loved to dance and once appeared in an anti-gang video.
None of the dignitaries spoke Saturday. Instead, close friends, holding back tears, got up to remember her.
One of them said she felt Hadiya was “still here with us, whispering the answers in chemistry.”
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.