ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- You may not expect upbeat music during a memorial service, but for the family and friends of Rosa Blue, it created a perfect atmosphere to say their final goodbye. In fact, services were called a “Home Going Celebration” instead of a funeral.

The well-known Geneva civil rights activist passed away last Saturday at the age of 86. Her accomplishments included organizing the first Geneva march in memory of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1974, 12 years before it became a national holiday. That determination still inspires her daughter Patrisha.

"Looking back on the annals of history, seeing her standing on the steps in 1968, at doctor King's memorial after his assassination, I thought I'd never forget that because that was my mother. I was 12 years old,"  said Patrisha Blue, Rosa Blue’s daughter.

A leader of her community who left behind a legacy that won't soon be forgotten, Blue also made a local impact as the first female president of the Geneva NAACP, the executive director of the Geneva Human Rights Commission, and the founder of Community Unified Today.

"Yes it's important that we have national leaders with a particular point of view and frame of mind,” said Donald Golden, Reverend of Missionary Baptist Church, “but it's the local leaders who truly make a difference."