Phyllis Schneck was 79.
She lived in Rutherford, N.J. and spent her winters in Tuscon.
Daughter B.J. Offutt says her mother never wanted to deal with the snow again.
Schneck kept returning to Arizona for winters even after her husband died in 2007.
Relatives say she had a talent for cooking and was always knitting.
Her son Ernest Schneck was planning to visit her next week.
In retirement, Schneck kept herself occupied by volunteering at her church.
Her home in Tucson was less than four miles from the supermarket where the shooting took place.
Offutt said her mother's appearance at the store was surprising, because she normally shopped at a different store and wasn't very political.
Schneck is survived by her three children, seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
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