"She was an honor student and a majorette, " said Sen.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

As a former drum majorette at school, she shared his passion and decided to buy 10 instruments with her pension fund so he could set up his own group.

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Obama attended the drum majorette's funeral on Saturday.

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Pendleton, 15, an honor student and band majorette at Kings College Prep School, died Tuesday after a gunman shot her at a park in what her godfather, Damon Stuart, described as an "ideal community" on Chicago's South Side.

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She was a majorette.

WHITEHOUSE: State of the Union 2013

That day, the procession was coming down Fifth Avenue: the majorette twirled her baton in the air, the big drums banged, and the balloon giant, representing the Satisfied Customer, flew among the skyscrapers, obediently advancing on leashes held by girls in kepis, tassels, and fringed epaulets, riding spangly motorcycles.

NEWYORKER: The Daughters of the Moon