Newtown shooting victim's funeral to be held Saturday

The funeral for six-year-old Ana Marquez-Greene, one of the 20 young victims of last week's school shooting in Newtown, Conn., will take place Saturday.

Ana was one of 20 students and six staff members who were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Friday.

The Marquez-Greene family had moved from Winnipeg to Newtown in July.

The funeral will be held in Bloomfield, Conn.

A "homegoing celebration" will begin at noon with visitation prior to the service. The burial will be private.

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

• The Ana Grace Marquez-Greene Music Scholarship Fund, care of Western Connecticut State University, office of institutional advancement, 181 White St., Danbury, CT, 06810
• The Ana Grace Marquez-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

  '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.' —Statement about Ana Marquez-Greene

A statement released by Western Connecticut State University, where Jimmy Greene is an assistant professor of music, described Ana love for singing.

"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," the statement read.

"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."

The statement also notes her brother Isaiah, who was also at the school in Newtown when the shooting happened at Sandy Hook Elementary School, as "a happy, intelligent and musical boy who loves hockey and very much misses his sister."

A Winnipeg spokesman for the family, Steve West, said some friends from the city will be travelling to Newtown to attend the funeral.

Greene is a jazz musician who was a faculty member at the University of Manitoba's school of music for three years before the family moved to Connecticut.

Marquez-Greene had worked as a family therapist at the University of Winnipeg's Family Therapy Centre.

A vigil for Ana was held on Tuesday evening at Eva Clare Hall at the University of Manitoba.

About 60 people attended a similar vigil at the University of Winnipeg on Monday night.