SAN DIEGO _ Friends of Poway resident Lori Gilbert-Kaye, who died Saturday in a shooting at the Chabad of Poway synagogue, say they weren't surprised that she died apparently confronting the 19-year-old gunman who took her life.
"When we heard what happened, we all said to ourselves, 'yes, that's how Lori would have wanted to go,'" said close friend Lisa Busalacchi, who had been close to Gilbert-Kaye since grade school. "I'm pretty sure if she could have picked a place to die, that would've been it. She died how she lived."
Multiple friends described her as a woman who was deeply committed to her Jewish faith, a committed friend and community leader, and the kind of person who wouldn't hesitate to take a stand in a difficult situation.
Services for Gilbert-Kaye, 60, will be held at 2 p.m. Pacific Monday at Chabad of Poway, 16934 Chabad Way in Poway. Graveside services will be held at 4 p.m. at El Camino Memorial Park, 5600 Carroll Canyon Road, San Diego.
Witnesses to the shooting say Gilbert-Kaye stepped in front of the gunman after he fired his rifle at the temple's rabbi, Yisroel Goldstein. In a news conference at the temple Sunday afternoon, Goldstein said he was horrified to see Gilbert-Kaye die just moments after he greeted her Saturday must before the morning services. He believes her sacrifice saved other lives because the shooter's gun jammed after she was shot.
"Lori took the bullet for us all. She died to protect all of us ... This is Lori, this is her legacy and her legacy will continue," Goldstein said.
