Titiana Bogar remembers the day her son, Lysaun Curry, told her what he wanted to do for a living.
"He said to me 'Mom, I want to be a hitman, a world hitman, undercover. For the feds.' He didn't want to be a police officer or a doctor. He wanted to be a hitman," Bogar said. "And I said `but then, momma never going to know where you at?' And he said 'but I'll always know where you at.'"
Bogar smiles as she reflects on her first-born son, an 18-year old whose teachers call an inspiration to everyone around him, a guy she said "talked to much" who could be arrogant, confident, and as good to anyone as someone could be.
She called him responsible, who worked whatever jobs he could, whether a construction job after his graduation from Northeast Collegiate Prep or a summer job at Sea Breeze.
"He felt he had to be strong for everybody. He felt like he was my man. Like I was married to him and like everything I had to do, I had to do through him," she said.
Bogar and her family continue to mourn Lysaun's sudden, violent death. Curry was shot and killed on Treanaman Street in Rochester's northeast October 2. His mother said he was walking home to his uncle's house from his construction job when he was gunned down.
Lysaun Curry
"I don't even have time to think about who did it. I've been planning his funeral, spending time with a house full of people who meant the world to him, his friends," she said.
Bogar said confidence separated her son from most his age. Curry played football at Frederick Douglass, then chose cheerleading at Northeast.
"I said 'Lysaun, are you joining the cheerleading squad so you can put your hands under the girl's spankies,"' Bogar said. "He said 'mom, I wanna flip. I wanna work on my flipping.' But he was dedicated to it."
As Rochester police continue their investigation of Curry's death, his mother works towards his final services, set for October 16.
"I've gotten calls from his elementary schools. His daycare. Everyone. My son put an impact on everybody," she said.