Stricken with sickle cell anemia since childhood, Judith Morales-Burgess was convinced the illness would take her life. She kept telling friends and family not to cry that day, but to throw a big party in her honor.
The 45-year-old Evanston mother of three was killed early Sunday by a stray bullet after her car was caught in gang crossfire on Chicago's West Side, police said.
Relatives hastily put together the party Sunday afternoon at sister Dian's house, but they couldn't hold back the tears, saying they had never prepared for anything like this.
The shooting occurred at 4:30 a.m. as Morales-Burgess was being driven home from a party, a night out to take her mind off her failing health.
Her friend Marsha Cattouse-Coye had stopped her car at a red light at Augusta Boulevard and Western Avenue. She was just crossing the intersection when a teenager ran across the street in front of her car, she said.
"The boy was running, and then I heard three gunshots," said Cattouse-Coye, 25. "I turned back to Judith, told her to duck, but she was already slumped over."
A bullet went through the open passenger-side window and pierced Morales-Burgess' neck, said Chicago police spokesman Tom Donegan. Police believe she was an innocent bystander.
As Cattouse-Coye drove off, she saw two other teens on the opposite side of the street, one with his arm extended, but didn't see a gun, she said.
"I just started screaming and heading to the nearest gas station," she said. "Judith was like a mother to me. She never hurt anybody in her life. She didn't deserve this."
Police late Sunday were still searching for suspects.
Morales-Burgess and Cattouse-Coye had been out all night, mostly singing reggae tunes at their favorite Evanston bar. She had just been released from Evanston Hospital and wanted to have some fun, relatives said.
"Partying kept her mind off things," said Dian Morales, 36. "She was always in and out of the hospital. She was always in pain. But she never got downhearted.
"I can't believe she was killed like this. She always talked about dying, but we always thought she was going to die peacefully, at home."
Sickle cell anemia is an inherited disorder that reduces the oxygen level in blood, causing chronic anemia and jaundice.
Morales-Burgess was a native of Belize, where her family wants her to be buried.
Hundreds of friends and relatives gathered Sunday on Dian Morales' front lawn in Evanston, sharing anecdotes as they ate a potluck dinner of jerk chicken, rice and beans and hot tamales.
"She loved to be among people. She loved to see a party going on," said her daughter Melisha, 19. "She didn't have much money, but she would always help people out."
Morales-Burgess also leaves another daughter, Alexia, 17; a son, Terrence, 22; and her first granddaughter, 17-month-old Jahnique.
"She loved her granddaughter. I don't know how to tell her," Melisha Morales said. "We're supposed to be having fun today, but I can't."