Services scheduled for Ana Grace Márquez-Greene, including Winnipeg

WINNIPEG, Dec. 20, 2012 /CNW/ - A Home-going Celebration for Ana Grace Márquez-Greene, 6, one of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, will be held on Saturday, Dec. 22 in Bloomfield, Conn.

A live satellite feed of the service will be broadcast at Grant Memorial Baptist Church, 877 Wilkes Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba at 11 am.  Guests are asked to "wear something purple, sparkly or with sequins".  Out of respect for media guidelines in Bloomfield, and at the request of the family, NO MEDIA are to attend the service.  Requests for interviews, quotes and photos can be directed to [email protected].

Memorial messages can be posted at www.Facebook.com/RememberingAna.  A photo album entitled 'media' will have photos for media use.  Online condolences can also be made at www.carmonfuneralhome.com.

Ana's parents, Jimmy Greene and Nelba Márquez-Greene have asked that donations in her memory be made to one's choice of following funds:

• The Ana Grace Márquez-Greene Memorial Bursary, care of The University of Winnipeg Foundation, 901 - 491 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada R3B 2E4 or http://www.uwinnipeg.ca/index/donate-now
• The Ana Grace Márquez-Greene Music Scholarship Fund, care of Western Connecticut State University, Office of Institutional Advancement, 181 White St., Danbury, CT, 06810 or http://www.wcsu.edu/ia/greene-scholarship.asp;
• The Ana Grace Márquez-Greene Family Therapy Fund, care of the Outpatient Clinic/Family Therapy Institute, Klingberg Family Centers, 370 Linwood St, New Britain, CT 06052
• The Artist's Collective, 1200 Albany Avenue, Hartford, CT 06112

In addition, friends have set up a fund to support the Marquez-Greene family at http://anagracefund.imageworksllc.com/

Ana is survived by her father, Jimmy Greene, a jazz saxophonist and an assistant professor of music at Western Connecticut State University; her mother, Nelba Márquez-Greene, program coordinator for the Family Therapy Institute at Klingberg Family Centers and Central Connecticut State University adjunct faculty; and her brother Isaiah, a happy, intelligent and musical boy who loves hockey and very much misses his sister.

Ana's love for singing was evident before she was even able to talk. In a musical family, her gift for melody, pitch and rhythm stood out remarkably. And she never walked anywhere — her mode of transportation was dance. She danced from room to room and place to place. She danced to all the music she heard, whether in the air or in her head. Ana loved her God, loved to read the Bible and loved to sing and dance as acts of worship. We ask that you pray for the legions of people who are left behind to cherish memories of her.

Nelba Márquez-Greene said she hopes the tragedy of the school shooting will bring a greater awareness to mental health issues and to reduce the stigma attached to those with mental illness, perhaps preventing tragedies like the one that took Ana's life. Information on how those with mental illness can get help can be found at www.aamft.org.

SOURCE: Remembering Ana