(CNN) -- Risking their lives to help disadvantaged Afghans became almost a norm for Tom and Libby Little. 

"We raised our three daughters through what was, at times, just hell," Libby Little said. "A hundred rockets a day was a good day." 

Family members lived underground to avoid bombings, she said. Yet they stayed out of a love for the people and a passion for providing eye care for the needy. 

But violence prevailed on Thursday. 

Tom Little, a New York optometrist, was among 10 people killed by gunmen in Badakhshan, a remote northeastern region of the country. The mostly foreign members of a medical team were robbed and shot one-by-one on a remote road. Their bodies were transferred to Kabul early Sunday, authorities said. 

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. 

"He died right where he loved to be -- and that was doing eye care in remote areas," Little said from her home in New York. "Our daughters are missing him terribly. But I think their feeling is, too, that this is a real passion that he had." 

More than 400 people gathered Sunday at Loudonville Community Church in Loudonville, New York, to honor Little. The church supported his trip financially and emotionally. 

"Four weeks ago, Tom Little stood right here," an emotional Stan Key, senior pastor, told the congregation. 

The church had printed Wednesday in its weekly worship guide, "Praise the Lord that Tom's ministry in conducting outpatient clinics ... in a remote village was successful. God protected Tom and his team." Key said he decided to leave it in the guide even after hearing the news of Little's death. 
How many people was he with?
Tom Little, a New York optometrist, was among 10 people