Washington (AFP) - Pittsburgh bid farewell Friday to 97-year-old Rose Mallinger, the oldest person killed in America's worst anti-Semitic attack in history and the last of the 11 victims to be laid to rest.
Her visitation took place at the Rodef Shalom synagogue in the Pennsylvania city on Friday before the funeral service began at 1:00 pm (1700 GMT), local media reported.
Mallinger was shot dead by a gunman who reportedly yelled "All Jews must die" after bursting into the Tree of Life synagogue during Shabbat services on Saturday. Her daughter, Andrea Wedner, 61, was shot and wounded.
Born in 1921, Mallinger may have been just three years shy of 100, but for the former school secretary, "age was truly just a number," her family said.
"She retained her sharp wit, humor and intelligence until the very last day," they said in a statement. "No matter what obstacles she faced, she never complained. She did everything she wanted to do in her life."
Mallinger was a devoted member of Tree of Life in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood, a center of Jewish life in Pittsburgh and home to a thriving, liberal and diverse community.
"Her involvement with the synagogue went beyond the Jewish religion... It was her place to be social, to be active and to meet family and friends," said her family.
Mel Brody, 63, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette he came to pay his respects for a number of reasons: "Number one, for the family, and number two, out of solidarity with the Jewish community at a time like this."
"It's surreal to be here because you never think of losing someone who is 97 years old to gun violence," Michele Organist, a friend of Mallinger, told USA Today.
A mother of three, Mallinger had five grandchildren and one great-grandchild. "She loved us and knew us better than we knew ourselves," the family said.
Pittsburgh has been holding funerals since Tuesday for those killed in the attack. A 46-year-old gunman, who was injured in a shootout with police, has been charged with crimes that could see him sentenced to death.
On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania visited Tree of Life to pay their respects to the victims.
Around 1,500 people took to the streets to protest against the visit, holding Trump at least partly responsibility for the shooting through his inflammatory language, and demanding that he renounce white nationalism.
