Howard Kaye holds his daughter Hannah Jacqueline Kaye at the funeral for Lori Gilbert-Kaye, the sole fatality of the Saturday shooting at Congregation Chabad synagogue in Poway, north of San Diego, California, US, April 29, 2019. Photo: REUTERS/John Gastaldo.

Lori Gilbert-Kaye, who was killed in an antisemitic attack on the Chabad of Poway synagogue on Saturday, was laid to rest on Monday in an emotional ceremony attended by hundreds of mourners.

The congregation, which included members of the Jewish community, political and law enforcement officials, and representatives of the Christian and Muslim communities, heard Kaye eulogized as a loving, colorful, and giving person adored by all.

Kaye’s husband, Dr. Howard Kaye, who attempted to resuscitate his wife after she was shot, told the assembled, “My wife was a person who did so much good in her life. … And whatever I did that might not have been good, she repaired.”

“She had a soul that was greater than any of us ever could believe,” he said

Speaking of those who die for Kiddush Hashem, or the sanctification of God’s name, Howard said this designation “is given only to people who are at a high level.” Lori, he asserted, “went straight up” as she died, “and right now, that’s where she is.”

Speaking of Lori’s killer, Howard exhorted those who might choose evil, “Turn your life around. Come back to the real world, which is the world of Lori, which is peace and love on Earth.”

Lori’s daughter Hannah also spoke, telling he congregation, “I chose to wear pink because my mother was a colorful woman and she would have loved it.”

Hannah connected Lori’s death to other recent attacks on houses of worship in New Zealand and Sri Lanka, and called for a moment of silence for all victims of religious and ethnic violence and hatred.

Noting that she had once been estranged from her mother, Hannah said that she and her mother had gone “through the thickest of fire to find ourselves outside of the heat and into each other’s arms, a symbol of the rebirth of our relationship, when we became each other’s closest confidants, where we marveled at the joy of one another, where we found incredible acceptance for our differences and where we celebrated as much as we could with music and dancing.”

Elan Carr, the State Department’s Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating anti-Semitism, also spoke, conveying, “Deepest and most heartfelt condolences from the president and all our national leaders.”

Carr said that Kaye’s murder had been caused by those “drinking the vile poison of antisemitism” purveyed by organizations and ideologies around the world and especially online in social media.

Such hatred, he said, has “no place on earth and no place in the United States of America.”

“We are at war with these people,” he asserted. “Jew-hatred is Jew-hatred. And we will fight it.”

“Today, in Lori’s name … we pray for might and for strength, so that we can vanquish this evil from our midst,” he declared.

Steve Vaus, the mayor of Poway, spoke briefly before leading the congregation in singing “God Bless America.”

“I want you to know without doubt, this community loves you, I love you, and God loves you,” he said to the Jewish community.

Lori Gilbert Kaye was born in San Diego on August 10, 1958, graduated from UCLA, and lived most of her life in the San Diego area.

A very active member the Chabad movement, which she joined in the 1990s, she helped the community obtain a loan to build the Poway synagogue.

Kaye was attending the Chabad service to say Kaddish for her mother, who passed away in November of last year.

According to USA Today, a thousand people attended a memorial service for Kaye, many holding Yartzeit candles. Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, who was wounded in the hand but survived the attack, told the crowd, “Look at the love. Look at the warmth.”

Michelle Silverman, a friend of Kaye for 50 years, said of her, “If there’s anybody in need, she’s the first one to step forward and say ‘I can help.’ … I felt like she was my third sister. It wasn’t just a friendship. It was a sisterhood.”

“She was an amazing mother and amazing wife,” Silverman remembered. “Her pride and joy was her family.”

Co-workers at the Pro Specialties Group also recalled Kaye, who worked as a senior account manager for the company.

Dava Dayan said, “Her tragic passing leaves a void in my heart. I am forever grateful that she was a part of my life. Our world will not be the same without her.”

At a press conference after the shooting, Goldstein said, “Lori took the bullet for all of us” and called her “a person of unconditional love.”

In a eulogy for her friend published by the Jewish Journal, Audrey Jacobs called Kaye, “a jewel of our community a true Eshet Chayil, a Woman of Valor.  You were always running to do a mitzvah (good deed) and gave tzedaka (charity) to everyone.”

“Anti-Semitism is real and is deadly,” Jacobs asserted. “Hate crimes are real and are deadly. Lori would have wanted all of us to stand up to hate. She was a warrior of love and she will be missed.”

“May Lori’s memory be a blessing,” she concluded. “Please, to honor Lori, do an act of kindness today with her in mind.”

In a remembrance published by Chabad, Kaye was eulogized as a charitable person who cherished her friends, often sending them greeting cards for every occasion.

Friend Teresa Lampert said, “She knew what everyone was up to, what was happening in their lives, and she cared to make them feel special. She was an incredible person.”

“She had such little time to rest; she was always doing good, making people happy, that’s who she was,” Lampert recalled. “Nobody could keep up with her.”

Kaye often had numerous guests for Shabbat, and was known throughout the community for baking her own challah, as well as matzah-ball soup and chicken.

“It was always incredible,” said Lampert. “And somehow, even when she had all of these guests, if she heard that someone wasn’t feeling well or for any other reason, she found time to deliver challah or a bouquet of flowers to several homes each week.”

The entire community sometimes gathered at Kaye’s home to break the annual Yom Kippur fast.

“You didn’t need an invitation to come,” Lampert said. “It was a given.”

“Everyone knew her and she knew everyone,” Lampert added. “She was a huge part of this community; she participated in all events and was loved by everyone.”

Lampert was also present in the synagogue during the shooting, and held her friend’s hand as she died.

“I take comfort knowing I was with my friend until the end,” she said.