Full text of the eulogy for Brenda McCool delivered Monday at First United Methodist Church of Orlando, Florida, by her son Isaiah Henderson:
I just want to say my mom was the best mom out there. I never thought that her life would be ended right in front of my eyes. I kept so positive that she was going to make it.
Everybody who knew my mom knew she was the mom everybody wanted. She always took everybody in with open arms. She loved everybody equally, no matter what.
I just want to thank everybody for this support, because she literally loved everyone. I wouldn't trade my mom for the world.
I didn't want to speak, because I knew this was going to happen, but I knew I would have regretted it if I never spoke. I haven't stopped crying since.
I love my mom. Everybody who knew her should have loved her, too. She was crazy. Chacho, let me tell you. [laughter]
My favorite memory of her is we came home and I was in a white polo and some khakis, and she said, "Isaiah, let's play fight," and so I'm, like, OK, I'm down. My mom was a fighter. What can I say?
She had pulled my polo over my head, started uppercutting me and my nose started bleeding, and I'm like, "Mama, my nose! It's bleeding!"
She said, "Even though we are play fighting, there can always be a real fight."
But I'm, like, "You're my mom. I'm not gonna hit you like it's a real fight. We're play fighting."
So we squared up again. I obviously lost. She's a linebacker.
All right. I just want to thank everybody for coming and showing support. Thank you for all the donations. We love all of you guys.
God bless.