Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna laid to rest as family mourns tragic loss in private California funeral
Basketball legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, have been laid to rest in a private funeral that took place on February 7, reports say.
Kobe was 41 and his daughter, Gianna, 13. The private funeral was held at the Pacific View Memorial Park in Corona Del Mar, California, on Friday, two weeks after the horrific crash that killed nine people, according to Entertainment Tonight.
Kobe and his daughter are survived by his wife, Vanessa Bryant, and their three kids: Natalia, 17, Bianka, 3, and Capri, 7 months. According to a source, the family had wanted their own space to mourn the tragic loss.
"Vanessa and the family wanted a private service to mourn their loss. The ceremony was extremely hard for everyone as it's still hard for them to grasp the lost two beautiful souls," the source told ET.
The 18-time NBA All-Star died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, on January 26. The group was flying to a girls basketball tournament at Bryant's Mamba Sports Academy where Gianna's team was scheduled to play. She and two teammates were among the nine people killed.
Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli, wife Keri and daughter Alyssa died in the crash along with Bryant's friend and assistant coach Christina Mauser and Sarah Chester and her daughter, Payton, 14.
Apart from the private funeral, Staples Center in Los Angeles will hold a public memorial on Monday, February 24. Kobe, who played professionally for the Lakers for his entire career span of 20 years at the Centre, wore the number 24 in 2006-07 season.
Vanessa announced the memorial on Instagram and said alongside artwork of butterflies that said, "A Celebration of Life", " #2, #24, #20 years as a Laker and the amount of years Kob and I were together."