"He was just that loving kind gracious young man and my daughter, she was the same way. She was so giving and loving and caring," Kay Shorter said in her only televised interview.
Shorter took to the pulpit to give a sermon on Sunday morning, just days after losing two of her family members.
Antonio Armstrong's mother speaks to Eyewitness News
"Antonio would have said to me if he was here, 'Mama, are you coming to church today?'" she said.
Shorter is the senior pastor and Armstrong a junior pastor at Spirit of Life Kingdom Center in southwest Houston.
Although it's been hard, she says she is turning to prayer for strength and using her faith to pull through a difficult time.
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Friends gather at memorial for the Armstrong family
"I have to is what I believe. It's my life, my conviction. I raised my children in the church to serve God -- that's what Antonio did, that's what Dawn did."
Although Dawn and Antonio were not physically present at the service, their spirit could be felt throughout the building.
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