Fannie Lee Chaney, “grandmother” of the Mississippi civil rights movement, was honored on Saturday as funeral services were held at First Union Baptist Church in Meridian. Mother to James Earl Chaney, one of three civil-rights workers killed in the “Mississippi Burning” case in 1964, the 84-year-old woman was instrumental in the recent conviction of a reputed Klan leader involved in the death of the young men, and worked throughout her life to push for social change.

“We are here where we are today, because she allowed God to use her,” said Rev. William Brown, delivering the eulogy. “She paid the ultimate price when James died, and in that moment, we all became her sons.”

Cars crowded the narrow streets surrounding the small church as community, state and national leaders filled the pews, paying tribute to a woman that many called “Momma Chaney.”

“She was an angel standing in the gap,” said State Rep. Jim Evans. “She taught us with her quiet dignity how to live.”

“Mrs. Chaney lived a life of selfless service to others,” said Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark. “The 1960s were a special time when a new idealism swept across the country, and the idea that all people were equal gripped people here. Mrs. Chaney registered voters and worked in Meridian. When James disappeared, her life changed forever, but her character did not. At her home she saw her symbol of faith burned on her lawn more than once and had violence threatened against her. Despite that, she lived through everything without fear, and that is not easy.”

Chaney was thrust into the forefront of the Mississippi Civil Rights movement when her son James and two other civil rights workers were murdered in 1964. James Chaney, Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman had been investigating the torching of a black church while registering black voters in what was called Freedom Summer. The men had been stopped for speeding, jailed briefly and then released, after which they were ambushed by a group of Klansmen. Weeks later, their bodies were found buried in an earthen dam. The men had been beaten and shot.

1967 saw Klan leader Edgar Ray Killen tried along with several others on federal charges of violating the victims civil rights. The all-white jury convicted seven of the men, but reached a deadlock in the case of Killen. None of the convicted men served more than six years. While Killen was the only one indicted on state murder charges, he remained outside of conviction until 2005 when he was found guilty on three counts of manslaughter.

“Fannie knew that there would be a judgment day for those men regardless of what happened because the Lord would take care of it,” said Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood, who helped prosecute Killen. “Though, she wanted that one day in court. Nothing else mattered. “

With amens, clapping, and old spirituals being sung loudly, much of the service seemed more like a celebration than a funeral and at the height of former civil right’s worker Dave Dennis’s address, he called all “veterans” of the 1960’s civil right’s movement to come forward and be recognized.

The entire service wasn’t joyful though, as Ben Chaney, son to the deceased, left harsh words for those individuals he believed unjustly used his mother’s legacy.

“She was such a forgiving woman when she lived,” said Chaney. “You’re going to find out that her son is not as forgiving. I’m not going to let you abuse my mother in death, like you did in life. When our home had a cross burned on the front lawn, a group of civil right’s leaders met right in this church to discuss what should be done. Not one of those leaders came to see if my mother was OK … It was a bitter pill for my mother to swallow when she came back to Meridian and saw that nothing had changed. Now that she’s gone, who’s going to stand in the gap for you?”

Chaney, along with other speakers, referenced the fact that Mississippi has one of the highest number of black elected officials and yet is one of the poorest states with the worst education scores.

“What happened?” asked Dave Dennis.

Fannie Lee Chaney was buried in Okatibbee Baptist Church Cemetery in Meridian.