The family of Woom Sing Tse gathers with friends and the community for a vigil on Friday, Dec. 10, 2021 at the corner of 23rd Pl. and Princeton in Chinatown, to remember the 71-year-old who was fatally shot on Tuesday afternoon. Woom Sing Tse's children are holding photos of him L to R: Susan Lam, Carina Set, and William Tse with microphone. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune) (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)

       The crowd in the rain Friday evening was so thick that few could see the speakers up front.

       But above the canopy of soaked umbrellas, a portrait of Woom Sing Tse that his son raised above his head was visible to all. For a moment, the rain eased to a gentle spray, and Tse’s smile watched over the throng of at least a hundred, radiating the same tenderness the 71-year-old possessed through his long life.

       Tse was gunned down Tuesday at South Princeton Avenue and West 23rd Place while out on a walk to buy a newspaper, authorities said. Prosecutors later said Alphonso Joyner, 23, shot at him 22 times in an “execution.”

       On Friday, Tse’s family was joined by community leaders and neighbors in Chinatown and beyond to hold vigil for the man who had been a fixture of the neighborhood. His children spoke about the joy he found in pingpong and the sweat he poured as a restaurant worker, toiling long days to provide for them. They detailed his affection for his nine grandchildren, whom he babysat until the last day of his life, and his inspiration to them as the epitome of an immigrant making it in America.

       They also spoke of the disbelief hanging over them, as they have yet to fully process his violent death.

       “The reality has not sunk in for a lot of us, including myself,” his son William Tse said. “But we have to be strong for the community. For everyone around us, especially for my mother, who’s not doing very well at the moment. She is terrified and scared.”

       Woom Sing Tse came to the U.S. from China about 50 years ago, eventually becoming owner of the restaurant he worked at before retiring years ago. His customers considered him to be family. He was a sensible and proud man, never asking his children for help and believing to the end that hard work was all he needed to succeed.

       “He didn’t let anything get in his way,” Carina Set, his daughter and the youngest of his three children, said. “He knew where he came from and always wanted better for us.”

       Set recalled a trip her family once took to New York City, where Tse marveled at landmarks he considered to be symbols of the American Dream. To stand there and take in all the sights confirmed to him he was truly in “the land of opportunity,” she said.

       “Dad made it,” Set said. “The freedom he sought, he found it. It will continue on through me — through us.”

       Amid the bustle of his life in Chinatown, Tse carried an appreciation for life’s simple joys. It was obvious from his ever-present smile. His other daughter, Susan Lam, recalled the family dining at a restaurant weeks before Tse’s death. When the steamed fish came out, he insisted on serving each person himself, grinning the entire time.

       “I’ll never forget how he smiled, doing just simple things like that,” Lam said. “I’ll never forget you baba.”

       At the conclusion of the vigil, local faith leaders held a prayer calling for both the killer’s conviction and him one day finding forgiveness with God. Then people walked toward the makeshift memorial of flowers and candles at the sidewalk where Tse had collapsed.

       Though the rain had picked up, a constellation of flames atop the candles continued to shine.

       ayin@chicagotribune.com

       NBA postpones the Chicago Bulls’ next 2 games because of the team’s COVID-19 outbreak, which stands at 10 players in the last 2 weeks

       1h

       As OSHA investigates, Gov. J.B. Pritzker surveys damage at Amazon warehouse where 6 died. ‘This is a tragedy of enormous proportion.’

       1h

       Chicago Blackhawks Chicago Blackhawks talk boosters — ‘We’ll do whatever it takes’ — after Monday’s game is postponed because of a COVID-19 outbreak on the Calgary Flames

       1:53 PM

       Politics As OSHA investigates, Gov. J.B. Pritzker surveys damage at Amazon warehouse where 6 died. ‘This is a tragedy of enormous proportion.’

       1h

       Chicago Bears Chicago Bears erupted for 27 first-half points — then watched their lead quickly disappear. Brad Biggs’ 10 thoughts on the 45-30 loss to the Green Bay Packers.

       6:23 AM