Portland observer., May 18, 2022, Page 7, Image 7

May 18, 2022
Page 7
Racism, Conspiracies
Katherine Massey, one of the victims killed in the grocery store
shooting in Buffalo on Saturday, is pictured back in 2011. Her
sister called her "a beautiful soul." (Photo courtesy The Buffalo
News via AP)
Continued from Page 2
around to the front of the store.
She saw someone being shot,
she said, and a man who looked
like he was dressed for the Army.
“Like a nightmare,” Harris
told The Buffalo News, shaken
but grateful to have found her
daughter safe.
The grisly scene was broadcast
online by the gunman, a video no-
table not just for the cold-blood-
edness of the killings, but how
fast they unfolded. In the deafen-
ing rat-a-tat of gunfire, 10 voices
were silenced, their stories left for
others to recite.
Of a woman whose niece swore
she was “the apple of God’s eye.”
Of a longtime policeman who
became a guard at the store and
whose son knew he died a hero.
Of an ace baker who’d give you
the shirt off her back.
Garnell Whitfield Jr., whose
86-year-old mother Ruth Whit-
field was killed in the attack,
said she had come to Tops after
her daily ritual of visiting her
husband of 68 years in his nurs-
ing home. In so many ways, for
so many years, Whitfield Jr. said
his mother had devoted her life to
those she loved.
“That day was like every other
day for my mom,” he said Mon-
day as he pondered how to break
the news to his father.
Heyward Patterson, a 67-year-
old deacon at State Tabernacle
Church of God in Christ, was sim-
ilarly doing the things he’d long
been known for. He had just come
from helping at his church’s soup
kitchen and now was at Tops, vol-
unteering in the community jitney
service that shuttles people with-
out a ride to and from the store.
Pastor Russell Bell of the Tab-
ernacle Church said he believed
Patterson had been loading some-
one’s groceries into his trunk
when the shots took him down.
“Anywhere he was, he was en-
couraging people to be the best
that they could be,” Bell said.
As customers arrived at Tops
ahead of the shooting, their pur-
pose was clear.
Roberta Drury, 32, was in
search of something for dinner.
Andre Mackneil, 53, came to pick
up a cake for his son’s third birth-
day. Celestine Chaney, 65, need-
ed some shortcake to go with the
strawberries she sliced.
For some in the store, it was
likely a trip of necessity, to fill an
emptied fridge or get a missing
ingredient. For Chaney, though,
it was more than some stubborn
chore. Stores were her passion.
Her 48-year-old son, Wayne
Jones, said he’d typically take his
mother shopping each week, stop-
ping at grocery store after grocery
store in search of the best deals,
with the occasional stop for a hot
dog or McDonald’s.
“We’d hit four or five stores
looking for a deal,” he laughed
even as his face was wet with tears.
On Saturday, it was Chaney’s
older sister, JoAnn Daniels, 74,
who accompanied her shopping,
and the two sisters made a mean-
dering trip through Tops’ aisles.
Chaney knew she needed short-
cakes, but flitting around the
store, she decided she wanted to
make shrimp salad, too, giggling
with her sister as they filled the
cart. She surveyed the roast beef
and complained about the price
of rolls before taking interest in
chicken legs.
“You done?” she finally asked
her sister, who said she was.
Pops suddenly ricocheted. The
sisters thought they were fire-
crackers, but others started run-
ning. They went to follow, but
Chaney was knocked down. Dan-
iels said she reached to help, but
her sister said she was fine.
“I’m coming,” Daniels said
her sister assured. She thought
Chaney was behind her.
It would be hours before she
learned the truth, when her neph-
ew saw the video of the shooting:
Her baby sister, who had survived
breast cancer and three surgeries
for aneurysms, died on a trip to
the grocery store.
PLANS
CHANGE.
DREAMS
DON’T.
Josh Griffie knows the
difference. He was a
teenager with big plans.
Then he was diagnosed with
an autoimmune disorder.
His soccer career? Over. His
other plans? Rearranged.
But when one path closes
off, Josh sees two more in its
place. “One of my biggest
strengths is my ability to
adapt, dream and
persevere,” he says.
Despite chronic health issues,
he started a photography
business in Portland, then
landed an internship and a
job at Nike. Soon he’ll finish
his business administration
degree online through Oregon
State Ecampus. And he’s ready
for whatever comes next.
ecampus.oregonstate.edu/josh
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