LOS ANGELES — Vanessa Bryant today confirmed plans for a Feb. 24 memorial service at Staples Center to celebrate the lives of her late husband, Kobe, and 13-year-old daughter, Gianna.
On Instagram, Vanessa Bryant posted that the “celebration of life” will be held at 10 a.m., but no other details were immediately available.
In her caption, she wrote, “#2, #24 #20 years as a Laker.”
The date of Feb. 24, or 2/24, has the symbolism of Gianna’s jersey number 2 and Kobe Bryant’s 24, which he wore during the second half of his career. Adding the numerals 2, 2 and 4 results in 8, which was Bryant’s jersey number during the first half of his career.
Kobe Bryant, the 41-retired Laker legend, and Gianna were killed Jan. 26 when the helicopter in which they were riding crashed into a Calabasas hillside. They were on their way to Bryant’s Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, where Bryant was scheduled to coach his daughter’s team in a youth basketball tournament.
Also killed in the crash were:
— John Altobelli, 56, longtime coach of the Orange Coast College baseball team, along with his wife, Keri, 46, and their 13-year-old daughter Alyssa, who was a teammate of Gianna on Bryant’s Mamba Sports Academy basketball team;
— Sarah Chester, 45, and her 13-year-old daughter Payton, who also played with Gianna and Alyssa;
— Christina Mauser, 38, one of Bryant’s assistant coaches on the Mamba Academy team; and
— Ara Zobayan, 50, the helicopter pilot.
A memorial service will be held Monday at Angel Stadium in Anaheim for the Altobelli family. A memorial service for Mauser will be held Feb. 16 at her alma mater, Edison High School in Huntington Beach.
