Ana Grace is the beloved daughter of Jimmy Greene and Nelba Márquez-Greene and younger sister of devoted brother, Isaiah. Her life on earth was ended at Sandy Hook School on December 14, 2012 – a day forever etched in our collective conscious.
Just one glimpse of her face and you can feel the joy that radiated from his beautiful six year-old. This is how her dad, a renowned jazz saxophonist, describes his precious daughter: “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.”
The Greene/Márquez family thanks all of the sponsors, donors, partners, friends and volunteers who allow them to do innovative, life changing work in memory of their daughter by partnering with existing programs and initiatives doing the work.
In their view, the best way to honor those lost is to respect the wishes of those left behind to mourn them. To ensure the memory of how they lived reaches as broadly as how they died. While many organizations cropped up after Sandy Hook, not all have been approved by families. For more information on family approved memorial efforts by Sandy Hook families, visit here: www.mysandyhookfamily.org. This is the only family approved site.
Efforts in Ana’s name include but aren’t limited to:
- scores of mental health and community strengthening conferences and professional development gatherings
- scholarships to high school students, bereaved mothers and young people for educational opportunities/special experiences
- regular and consistent donations to initiatives that support: music and the arts ( like establishing an instrument repair fun for young learners) and our partner schools (fundraising over $50,000 for diverse titles for our library)
- regular and consistent donations to programs that affirm human dignity like LGBTQ prom and the Fade and Braid Fund at the CREC Ana Grace Academy
Ana Grace is also honored through a memorial scholarship at Western CT State University given to incoming students in the music program where her dad is faculty. For more information, please contact Institutional Advancement at WCSU. We have done A LOT to remember her. And still it is not even one percent of what this world would have seen from her had she been allowed to love.