Thousands mourning jazz singer and actress Lena Horne at funeral in NYC

Thousands mourn jazz singer Lena Horne in NYC

NEW YORK — Thousands of mourners were bidding a final farewell to jazz singer and actress Lena Horne in New York City on Friday.

She was remembered at her funeral as a shy girl from Brooklyn who broke through decades of racism to emerge as a world-class entertainer and social leader. Horne died Sunday at age 92.

Mourners at St. Ignatius Loyola in Manhattan included her granddaughter, actress Jenny Lumet, former Mayor David Dinkins and singer Chita Rivera.

Horne “was so many ideas existing all at the same time in the same space and they were all conflicting and they were all true,” Lumet said.”I’ve tried to sum her up and I can’t sum her up; summing up really means it’s over and I think that she’s not over and that she’s quite infinite.”

Broadway star Audra McDonald stood over the casket and sang “Amazing Grace.”

Horne’s seductive voice dazzled the world for decades with tunes like “My Blue Heaven” and “Stormy Weather.” She was among a handful of black actors and actresses to have a contract with a major Hollywood studio.