At first funeral after Buffalo shooting, a 'God-given' man is mourned
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[May 21, 2022] By
Tyler Clifford
BUFFALO, N.Y. (Reuters) -Nearly a week
after an avowed white supremist killed 10 Black people at a western New
York supermarket, friends and family of Heyward Patterson gathered on
Friday to mourn a "God-given" man who was considered family to many in
the Buffalo neighborhood where he lived and died helping others.
The private memorial service for Patterson, a community deacon, was the
first funeral for one of the people killed in Saturday's attack. It took
place at Lincoln Memorial United Methodist Church, less than a mile from
the Tops Friendly Markets store where 13 people - 11 of them Black -
were shot Saturday by the gunman firing a semi-automatic, assault-style
rifle.
While the service was closed to the media, people gathered outside to
hug, mourn and celebrate the life of Patterson, 67, who many described
as a man who would give the shirt off his back to another.
Michelle Johnstone, 44, said she considered him an uncle figure, calling
him a "God-given person." She recalled how the deacon would take her to
the altar of the church, rub oil on her forehead, hold her hands tight
and uplift her in prayer whenever she asked for just three minutes of
his time.
"They always want to take the good ones," she told Reuters outside the
church. "That deacon, it’s just something about that prayer."
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/May/21/images/ads/current/culligan_sda_SFARM_2022.png)
Donald Vinson, 64, a cousin, recalled playing football and going
swimming with Patterson, whom he credited for keeping him out of
trouble.
Patterson, whom many called Deke or Deacon, was a constant presence at
Tops, the lone supermarket in the majority-Black community on the east
side of Buffalo, according to Yvonda King, a 55-year-old hair stylist.
A kindly, affable man, according to those who knew him, Patterson would
provide rides to elderly shoppers - "jitneying" in the local parlance -
with his car.
"He was there every day, helping the elderly get around, or anyone who
needs to get around as far as jitneying," King said.
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![](../images/052122pics/news_o27.jpg)
Mourners attend the funeral of Heyward Patterson in the wake of a
weekend shooting at a Tops supermarket in Buffalo, New York, U.S.
May 20, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/May/21/images/ads/current/graue_preowned_051422.png)
Patterson, the eldest of seven, was born in South
Carolina and moved to Buffalo with his family at a young age. He was
a husband, a father to three and several grandchildren, the Los
Angeles Times reported, citing his wife Tirzah Patterson.
At a Thursday news conference, Tirzah Patterson said
she was recently separated from her husband, though they continued
to raise their 12-year-old son.
"I need a village to help me raise and be here for my son, because
he has no father," she said.
Heyward Patterson served as a deacon at State Tabernacle Church of
God in Christ nearby the Tops store. He volunteered at the church's
soup kitchen, according to the Times.
Services for some of the other victims are set for next week, while
others have yet to be arranged.
Last weekend's rampage, which authorities said the gunman had
carefully planned with an eye toward killing as many Black people as
he could, has touched a nerve in a country that has grown accustomed
to mass shootings.
The case that has spurred national soul-searching over how the
internet facilitates to the spread of racist hate and how easy
access to firearms enables those who embrace racist ideology to
carry out acts of mass violence.
Erie County prosecutors have charged 18-year-old Payton Gendron with
a single count of first-degree murder in the massacre. He faces life
in prison without parole if convicted on the murder charge.
The FBI has said the shooting is under investigation as a hate crime
and an act of "racially motivated violent extremism."
(Reporting by Tyler Clifford; Editing by Frank McGurty and Aurora
Ellis)
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