'She's A Beautiful Soul'; Loved Ones Remember Dr. Tamara O'Neal At Funeral
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Family and friends are paying their last respects to Dr. Tamara O'Neal, one of three innocent people killed in a shooting at Mercy Hospital and Medical Center last week.
O'Neal's funeral was being held Friday morning at First Church of God in her hometown of LaPorte, Indiana.
"I'm going to miss her enthusiasm. I'm going to miss her spirit. She was a very happy person. She enjoyed life to the fullest, and we're going to all miss that," said Dr. Adele Cobbs, a Mercy Hospital colleague.
An emergency room doctor at Mercy Hospital, O'Neal got into an argument with her former fiancé in the parking lot on Nov. 19, and he pulled out a gun and shot her execution-style. He then went inside the hospital, where he killed Dr. Dayna Less, a pharmacy resident, as she was getting off an elevator.
He also killed Chicago Police Officer Samuel Jimenez in a shootout, before turning his gun on himself.
Most of those at O'Neal's funeral didn't want to remember the violent way O'Neal died, but the inspiring way she lived.
"Tammy was caring, loving, thoughtful, and she always had a smile on her face," cousin Paul Pryor said.
Hundreds crammed into her church to say goodbye. The 38-year-old physician was an active and devoted member, as well as choir director, at Christian Fellowship Worship Center, in LaPorte.
"She's a beautiful soul. I know she's smiling and proud of everything that we've done for her so far; and we really, really miss her," said Dr. Alexandria Holliday, a medical school classmate.
Family and friends said O'Neal achieved the goal she had set for herself in life, and was doing the job she loved when she was killed, and that provides a small sense of solace as they mourn her untimely death.
O'Neal's funeral was the final of the three for the Mercy Hospital shooting victims. Funerals for Less and Jimenez were held on Monday.
