Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – It has likely been a long year for the family of Sonya Massey following her shooting death by a then-Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy, but her mother and cousin are coping in the best ways they probably can.

Donna Massey tells our news partners at WAND-TV she tries to remember how much of a caring, compassionate woman her daughter was.

“She was real sensitive about…most kids will laugh when you fall and hurt yourself.  She was the one who would go up to you and tell you, ‘It’s not funny.’  She’d be mad about that.  She was real caring,” said Massey.

Donna Massey says her daughter taught her much more than she ever taught her daughter.

Sontae Massey, a cousin to Sonya but treated like a brother, tells WAND-TV he feels he’s taking on Sonya’s desire to be a change-maker.

“Everything that she said is coming to fruition,” said Sontate.  “She said she would be famous.  And she said she would change the world.  Som I’m continuing the work that she set out for in the beginning.”

It might not have been the way Sonya Massey had hoped she would make a difference, but Sontae says it’s important to keep Sonya’s legacy going.

“Anything that we set our minds to change, we will absolutely try to change.  Hopefully, her spirit will look down on us and help us get through it,” said Sontae.  “We’ve still got a long road ahead of us and we need to remember what happened that day, and why it happened, and why we continue to push to make things right.”