Ally finished the Boston marathon in 3 hours and 30 minutes (her personal best), Rob finished in 3 hours and 10 minutes. Ally, Rob, and the Newtown Memorial Fund offer our deepest sympathies to those affected by the marathon bombing. Our wounded hearts pray for those in Boston.

Ally and Rob finished the Big Sur Marathon together in 3 hours and 45 minutes! What an amazing accomplishment ...]]> Click the donate button to make a secure donation to sponsor our runners in the Boston and Big Sur Marathons!

Ally finished the Boston marathon in 3 hours and 30 minutes (her personal best), Rob finished in 3 hours and 10 minutes. Ally, Rob, and the Newtown Memorial Fund offer our deepest sympathies to those affected by the marathon bombing. Our wounded hearts pray for those in Boston.

Ally and Rob finished the Big Sur Marathon together in 3 hours and 45 minutes! What an amazing accomplishment to finish two marathons in two weeks and raise over $36,000 in the process!

$36,427 raised so far!

Ally McDonald and Rob Clifford’s Story: Many of you are aware that on December 14, 2012 when 26 people including 20 small children were gunned down needlessly at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, my niece Isabella was in a neighboring classroom fearing for her life. Needless to say, the fear we felt that day was only matched by the relief we felt when we knew Bella was okay, followed by the sorrow and grief we felt for a town so incredibly injured.

Besides providing as much emotional support (as you can give from one Irish person to another) to my sister Tricia, her husband John Butler, Olivia 13 and Bella 9, Rob and I have been constantly wondering what else we can do to help. We have also fielded so many inquiries from many of you on how you can also help support Newtown and the families of the Sandy Hook School.

We were so happy when my sister introduced us to the Newtown Memorial Fund — an all volunteer (experienced in philanthropy and other specialties) organization of concerned Newtown citizens created to give immediate assistance to those in need without the red tape, and with the mission of creating a sustainable fund for scholarships to be made in memory of those lives lost.

The fund has already helped by reimbursing many of the affected families for costs associated with funerals, travel, lost wages, and so much more. The long-term goals include continued support, assistance with psychiatric costs, establishing perpetual academic scholarships, and an eventual physical memorial.

Now the ask. Rob, and I have decided to partner with my sister’s family, The Butlers, and the Newtown Memorial Fund to raise funds and awareness for this great organization. In exchange for your generous donations, Rob and I will run the Boston Marathon on April 15th and follow that up with the Big Sur Marathon on April 28th (13 days later but who is counting). Bella, our Sandy Hook Schooler — a great athlete and budding fashion designer — plans to run the last half-mile of the Boston Marathon with me as well as decorate a t-shirt for both of us to wear during the race!

We hope to raise at least a thousand dollars for each live lost at each race. That means $26,000 per race. Any amount is appreciated and we hope that those with special wishes for the people of Newtown or if you want to make your donation in honor of someone you will do so below.

You can also mail your donations. Please make checks payable to “Newtown Memorial Fund, Inc.” and note “2 Marathons” in the memo section so we can track your donation. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. All donations are tax deductible and eligible for many corporate matching gift programs. Contact us for more information.

Newtown Memorial Fund, Inc.
P.O. Box 596
Botsford, CT 06404

If you’re ready to donate, we’re ready to run! Follow Ally and Rob’s efforts for Newtown on Facebook too!

“We were so moved by the Sandy Hook ...]]> Newtown, Conn., March 13, 2013 –The Newtown Memorial Fund, Inc., a sustainable fund created to support those affected by the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy, announced today a long term fundraising partnership with Pura Vida Bracelets, a La Jolla based company and designer of stylish Costa Rican handmade string bracelets. The exclusive Sandy Hook Elementary Memorial bracelet, created in response to the December 14th tragedy, will continue to be sold with all proceeds benefiting the Newtown Memorial Fund.

“We were so moved by the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy and wanted to reach out to help through the creation of a bracelet in memory of the students and teachers as well as spread hope throughout the country,” said Griffin Thall, Founder of Pura Vida Bracelets.
“The Sandy Hook Elementary Memorial bracelet has been extremely successful and we’ve currently sold more than 6,000 bracelets to raise $23,000 for the Newtown Memorial Fund. We’ve decided to continue sales of The Sandy Hook Memorial bracelets as part our charity collection for months to come.”

The Newtown Memorial Fund is the first locally recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in response to the Sandy Hook tragedy. The board of directors is made up entirely of current and former residents of Newtown. The Board includes local law enforcement officials, educators, business leaders, and professionals from the mental health, development and communications industries.

“We are thrilled Pura Vida has selected Newtown Memorial Fund to support with ongoing sales of the Sandy Hook Elementary School bracelet,” said Newtown Memorial Fund Inc. Founder Brian Mauriello. “Their generosity and level of commitment to helping Newtown heal is greatly appreciated as we continue to fulfill our mission locally. “

The business model behind Pura Vida Bracelets evolved from a college graduation trip to Costa Rica taken by Founders Griffin Thall and Paul Goodman. While travelling they met locals Jorge and Joaquin who were selling colorful handmade bracelets on the street. Prior to returning to California both Griffin and Paul requested 400 bracelets from the Costa Rican natives to sell in the United States. Once placed in several boutiques and surf shops, in and around the La Jolla area, the bracelets sold instantly. To everyone’s good fortune a friendship blossomed into a full-fledged business partnership providing employment and steady income for both Jorge and Joaquin’s families. Pura Vida Bracelets are sold worldwide in more than 2,500 retail outlets. To order a Sandy Hook Elementary Memorial Bracelet please visit http://puravidabracelets.com/store/bracelets/charity-bracelets/sandy-hook-elementary-memorial.html.

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About Newtown Memorial Fund, Inc.
Newtown Memorial Fund, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to create a sustainable fund to provide for the immediate and ongoing needs of those affected by the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy, to construct a physical memorial honoring the lives lost on December 14, 2012, and to establish academic scholarships to honor those lost in this tragedy for future generations of Newtown students. For additional information about the organization or to make a secure and tax-deductible donation via PayPal please visit www.newtownmemorialfund.org.

Media Contact: Jeff Belanger
media@newtownmemorialfund.org

“The Newtown Memorial Fund is the first ...]]> Fund Reaches $1 Million in Donations

Newtown, CT, February 26, 2013 –The Newtown Memorial Fund, Inc., a sustainable fund to provide for the immediate and ongoing needs of those affected by the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy, announced today that it has received official 501(c)(3) status from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The organization is recognized as a nonprofit that is exempt from federal income tax and eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions, retroactive to December 2012.

“The Newtown Memorial Fund is the first 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization created in direct response to the horrific Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting,” said Newtown Memorial Fund, Inc. Founder Brian Mauriello. “Newtown has experienced kindness from around the globe over the past two months, but we founded the Newtown Memorial Fund to ensure that the town’s needs related to this tragedy are taken care of in perpetuity. We are committed to raising millions of dollars to help those affected by the horrible Sandy Hook Elementary School event as well as the community’s needs for future generations. We’re off to a strong start by reaching one million dollars in our first two months while we were getting our organization together and filing for official status. With this status granted, we can now make even more progress toward our fundraising goals.”

As a Newtown resident and a Newtown High School Class of 1992 graduate whose six-year-old son is enrolled in a Newtown public school, Mauriello decided to act immediately by forming the Newtown Memorial Fund, Inc. The organization will assess, with town input, the appropriate ways to meet the short- and long-term needs of those impacted by the tragedy, as well as create a lasting memorial and annual scholarships in the names of those who perished in the December 14^th attack on Sandy Hook Elementary School.

The steps taken by the Newtown Memorial Fund to date include:

• Establishing a board of directors, made up of current and former Newtown residents, law enforcement professionals, Newtown’s former Superintendent of Schools, a Newtown public school teacher, a town selectman, local business owners, a mental health professional, an accountant, an attorney, a non-profit administrator, and others
• Filing articles of incorporation and as a charity with the state of Connecticut
• Receiving a federal tax identification (EIN) number
• Receiving 501(c)(3) status from the IRS
• Opening a bank account to manage donations
• Establishing and maintaining a sophisticated website and social media content
• Establishing a Paypal account to receive secure donations
• Creating operating bylaws
• Establishing roles and functional responsibilities for each board member and establishing the scope of their respective sub-committees
• Establishing an agreed-upon and focused list of fundraising events

The Newtown Memorial Fund is committed to collaborating with and, if necessary, consolidating with other organizations and funds in town to facilitate the healing process and commemorate each life lost. To date, dozens of schools, churches, small businesses, corporations and individuals from around the world have made significant contributions to the Newtown Memorial Fund. Local business professionals have graciously volunteered their time, talent, and resources to assist with meeting each of the organization’s outlined goals as well as ensure its continued success.

For additional information about the organization or to make a secure donation via PayPal please visit www.newtownmemorialfund.org. Donations can also be made by mail at Newtown Memorial Fund, Inc., P.O. Box 596, Botsford, CT 06404. Follow Newtown Memorial Fund on Facebook and Twitter.

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About Newtown Memorial Fund, Inc.

The Newtown Memorial Fund’s mission is to create a sustainable fund to provide for the immediate and ongoing needs of those affected by the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy, to construct a physical memorial honoring the lives lost on December 14, 2012, and to establish academic scholarships in the victims’ names for future generations of Newtown students.  Follow Newtown Memorial Fund at www.newtownmemorialfund.org and on Facebook and Twitter.

Media Contact:
Jeff Belanger
Vice Chair, Newtown Memorial Fund, Inc.
media@newtownmemorialfund.org

Kidologie Gets Ready for Summer attracts families from all over Connecticut looking forward to a day of many surprises and live entertainment by Jester Jim, Twisty ...]]> NEWTOWN, CT – February 5, 2013 – Connectologie LLC, the area’s premier event production company will be hosting its popular and fun semi-annual Children’s Fair for kids of all ages and their parents on Sunday, March 10, 2013, from 11am – 4pm at the Reed Intermediate School conveniently located off I-84 at Exit 11 at 3 Trades Lane, Newtown, CT.

Kidologie Gets Ready for Summer attracts families from all over Connecticut looking forward to a day of many surprises and live entertainment by Jester Jim, Twisty Bros., The Magic of Bryan Lizotte, a Visit from The Sharon Family Farm, interactive activities and much more!! Plus families will have a chance at winning the “Golden Ticket” grand prize, a summer family getaway package valued at $3,000 to Woodloch Resort located in Hawley, PA.

While children are enjoying the entertainment, parents will have a direct opportunity to learn first-hand from national and local exhibitors about area Summer Activities and Programs for kids, as well as meet other businesses specializing in children.

The number and variety of exhibitors is growing daily. Highlights from Kidologie’s lineup includes national and regional exhibitors Microsoft featuring fun and educational games, Build a Bear, The Picture People, Yogibo, John Casablancas Modeling & Career and Woodloch Resort. Local exhibitors include The Little Gym of Newtown, Hudson Country Montessori, Misty Morning Children’s Center, EverWonder Children’s Museum, Juice Plus, Dental Associates, Allstate Insurance, Steve DeMasco’s Shaolin Studios, Macaroni Kid, Danbury Ice Arena, Kokoon Boutique, Newtown Memorial Fund and many more.

Planning for the semi-annual Children’s Fair began in the early fall of last year. When the tragic events of Sandy Hook occurred co-owner of Newtown based Connectologie, Lisa Agresta, who also is a resident of Newtown and a mom of three young children, reflected on whether to continue with the event or if the venue should be relocated. After careful consideration, Lisa Agresta said, “My business partner and I decided to continue with the event here in Newtown because this is my home and events like this are important to the community.” It was also decided to support the community by donating all proceeds from ticket and event giveaways to the Newtown Memorial Fund.

The Newtown Memorial Fund’s mission is to create a sustainable fund to provide for the immediate and ongoing needs of those affected by the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy, to construct a physical memorial honoring the lives lost on December 14, 2012, and to establish academic scholarships in the victims’ names for future generations of Newtown students. “We are thrilled to be associated with and be the beneficiary of such a diverse and fun event like this. The event in and of itself can help our community to heal, while the funds raised will be added to what we have already collected and begun disbursing quietly through our channels identifying needs of those affected,” said Brian Mauriello, Chairman and Founder of the Newtown Memorial Fund.

Tickets to Kidologie Gets Ready for Summer can be purchased online at www.kidologie.com or at the door the day of the event. Ticket Prices are $5.00 per adult. Children 12 and under are FREE. While supplies last, families purchasing tickets ahead of time will be guaranteed a chance at winning the “Golden Ticket” grand prize which will be hidden in one of the 400 goody bags distributed at the door. Reserved bags must be picked up by 12:30pm on the day of the event.

Business owners interested in being a part of this exciting event should contact Geetha Selva at gselva@connectologie.com or (203) 794-6612.

Kidologie is a production of Connectologie, LLC, www.connectologie.com. The Company is owned by Lisa Agresta and Geetha Selva. Kidologie’s most recent production was a “Back to School” event held at the Westfield Trumbull Mall. In addition, Lisa Agresta participated in the production of Womanologie, a fundraiser and fun night out for women which benefited the EverWonder Children’s Museum.

Connectologie, LLC, will be producing another Kidologie Gets Ready for Summer event which will take place at the Westfield Trumbull Mall in April 2013. For additional information about this event, contact Geetha Selva at gselva@connectologie.com.

The software will allow Newtown Memorial Fund to share its story as it creates a physical memorial honoring the students and teachers who lost their lives and establishes academic scholarships in their names.

Established by ...]]> CHICAGO, IL, and NEWTOWN, CT – (January 29, 2013) – Cision and Newtown Memorial Fund, Inc., a fund created to address short- and long-term community needs in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy, jointly announce that Cision will donate its PR software to assist with the fund’s outreach needs.

The software will allow Newtown Memorial Fund to share its story as it creates a physical memorial honoring the students and teachers who lost their lives and establishes academic scholarships in their names.

Established by current and former residents of Newtown, the fund was created in the hours following the tragedy. Its Board of Directors includes local law enforcement officials, educators, business leaders, and professionals from the mental health, development and communications industries.

“We sincerely appreciate Cision supporting our mission to help the community recover,” said Brian Mauriello, founder of Newtown Memorial Fund, Inc.  “Doing nothing was not an option. We aim to focus on a long-term solution to help in the healing process and with the needs of future generations.”

The Newtown Memorial Fund is working towards raising $26 million to commemorate the 20 children and six adults who lost their lives on December 14, 2012. To date, the fund has collected over $750,000 in donations, which arrive daily from around the world. Handwritten notes, cards, poems or messages accompany each contribution sent from individuals and organizations with no ties to the community beyond wanting to show the town that it is not alone.

“Cision PR software will allow us to reach out to national and international media as well as digital influencers,” said Amy Bailey, a public relations professional and former Newtown resident assisting with the fund’s PR efforts. Like each of the fund’s staff and directors, she serves as a volunteer on the publicity sub-committee.

“Telling our story through an ongoing media campaign will support our fundraising goals and help the public understand our outreach activities as we continue to assist with the healing process,” she said. “We’ve been purely website- and social-media-driven, aside from any direct media contacts we collectively have. But by getting our message to a broader media list, Cision will allow us to credibly scale upward and reach a wider audience quickly and effectively.”

About Newtown Memorial Fund, Inc.

The mission of the Newtown Memorial Fund, Inc. is to create a sustainable fund to provide for the immediate and ongoing needs of those affected by the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy, to construct a physical memorial honoring the lives lost on December 14, 2012, and to establish academic scholarships in the victims’ names for future generations of Newtown students. Follow Newtown Memorial Fund at www.newtownmemorialfund.organd on Facebook and Twitter.  Donations can be made through the website and by mail at Newtown Memorial Fund, Inc., PO Box 596, Botsford, CT 06404.

About Cision

Cision is a global provider of software, services and tools to the public relations and marketing industry. Cision is present in Europe, North America and Asia, has partners in over 125 countries and is quoted on the Nordic Exchange with revenue of SEK 1.0 billion in 2011. For more information, visit cision.com.

For More Information:

Andrée Beckham
Vice President, Marketing & Public Relations
Cision
312-873-6434
andree.beckham@cision.com

Newtown Memorial Fund, Inc.
media@newtownmemorialfund.org

NEWTOWN, CT – (January 15, 2013) – Newtown Memorial Fund, Inc., a fund created in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy to address the short- and long-term needs of the town, announced today that it has received its largest donation to date from Marinello Schools of Beauty, a leading national brand of beauty schools in Cosmetology, Esthetics and Nail Technology education. Marinello is donating $91,315 to Newtown Memorial Fund, which is 100 percent of the service ...]]> $91,000 Donation to Support Newtown Recovery

NEWTOWN, CT – (January 15, 2013) – Newtown Memorial Fund, Inc., a fund created in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy to address the short- and long-term needs of the town, announced today that it has received its largest donation to date from Marinello Schools of Beauty, a leading national brand of beauty schools in Cosmetology, Esthetics and Nail Technology education. Marinello is donating $91,315 to Newtown Memorial Fund, which is 100 percent of the service sales received at all 62 campuses across the country from Wednesday, Dec. 26 to Saturday, Dec. 29, 2012.

“Local communities have shown an outpouring of support for the victims of the Sandy Hook tragedy and we are so grateful for our guests, students and instructors who participated in this fundraiser,” said Dr. Nagui Elyas, President of Marinello Schools of Beauty. “Marinello is committed to giving back to the community and through the Newtown Memorial Fund, we are able to provide for the immediate and long-term needs of the victims’ families.”

Newtown Memorial Fund, Inc. was created to address the immediate needs of the town, as well as plan for a permanent memorial and scholarships in the names of those who lost their lives. To date, the Newtown Memorial Fund has received more than half a million dollars in donations from around the world. The organization is committed to working alongside other service providers and funds in town to facilitate the healing process and commemorate each life lost.

“We accept this donation from Marinello Schools of Beauty with heartfelt thanks,” said Newtown Memorial Fund, Inc. Founder and Newtown resident Brian Mauriello. “Corporations around the country of all size, from Fortune 500s to independently owned, local business, are approaching the Newtown Memorial Fund to help the town in some way.  We appreciate their generous support of our mission to help the community recover.”

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About Newtown Memorial Fund, Inc.

The mission of the Newtown Memorial Fund, Inc. is to create a sustainable fund to provide for the immediate and ongoing needs of those affected by the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy, to construct a physical memorial honoring the lives lost on December 14, 2012, and to establish academic scholarships in the victims’ names for future generations of Newtown students.  Follow Newtown Memorial Fund at www.newtownmemorialfund.organd on Facebook and Twitter.  Donations can be made through the website and by mail at Newtown Memorial Fund, Inc., PO Box 596, Botsford, CT 06404.

Organization’s Board of Directors is by Newtown for Newtown.

NEWTOWN, CT (Dec. 26) – In the wake of the December 14th Sandy Hook Elementary School Tragedy, Newtown Memorial Fund, Inc. was formed to address the long-term memorial needs of the Newtown community. The organization came together within hours of the tragedy and has already brought ...]]> Fund’s mission is to create a lasting memorial location for Newtown, academic scholarships in the names of the victims for generations to come, and long-term support for the affected families.

Organization’s Board of Directors is by Newtown for Newtown.

NEWTOWN, CT (Dec. 26) – In the wake of the December 14^th Sandy Hook Elementary School Tragedy, Newtown Memorial Fund, Inc. was formed to address the long-term memorial needs of the Newtown community. The organization came together within hours of the tragedy and has already brought in more than $250,000 in donations from around the world. Its Board of Directors represents current and past Newtown residents, public officials, a Newtown school teacher, a licensed psychologist, a police officer, and local business leaders.

“What makes our organization different is that we’re here for the long haul,” said Newtown Memorial Fund, Inc. Founder, Brian Mauriello. “While some of the other funds in town are doing the important work of addressing the victim families’ immediate needs, we’re focusing on what will happen in coming months and years. The town will need a proper memorial to commemorate this tragic event, as well as academic scholarships in the names of the victims, so that students for many years to come have the opportunity to further their education. That is something that was taken away from 20 young children. Our fund hopes to honor their legacy by sending many dozens of Newtown kids to college in the coming decades.”

Mauriello is a Newtown resident, a Newtown High School Class of 1992 graduate, and a father of a first grader in the Newtown public school system. As the organization was forming, he reached out to his former classmates and community. “I knew that to be legitimate, we would need a Board of Directors with strong ties throughout the community, great business acumen, and the ability to build something big,” Mauriello said.

The Board of Directors includes: Robert Davenport, C.P.A.; Attorney Jerome A. Mayer, Esq.; Newtown Selectman Jim Gaston, Esq.; Newtown Public School Teacher Tim Napolitano; Newtown resident and Trumbull Police Officer Sgt. Phil Hynes, III; Newtown Police Commissioner board member and Realtor, Andy Sachs; long-time Sandy Hook resident and business owner, Rick Mazzariello; Psychologist Dr. Susan Belanger, Ph.D.; Author and former Newtown resident, Jeff Belanger; and former Newtown resident and Non-Profit Administrator Sara Appleyard Adams. In the coming weeks, more additional key individuals from the school board and town government will be added to help represent and administer Newtown Memorial Fund, Inc.

Within days of the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the organization: formed; filed as a company in Connecticut, obtained a federal EIN number from the IRS; established a bank account, a post office box, and a Board of Directors; filed their articles of incorporation; filed for their 501(c)(3) status with the IRS; and raised over a quarter of a million dollars.

“We know people are concerned about where their donation dollars are going,” said Mauriello. “As we work quickly to gain our 501(c)(3) status, we’re committed to total financial transparency. All of us are volunteering our time and talents to get this organization off the ground. If we can reach our goal of raising 26 million dollars, we will have a fund that can serve the community’s memorial needs, and establish a long-term set of academic scholarships so future generations of Newtown students have the opportunity to further their education. We’re off to an incredible start and have had some promising contact with organizations that can make these goals come to fruition, but we still have a long way to go.”

Newtown Memorial Fund, Inc. is committed to working with the other organizations and funds in town that are striving toward the same goal of helping the community heal, yet never forget the tragedy that took place in town.

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About Newtown Memorial Fund, Inc.

Newtown Memorial Fund’s mission is to create a sustainable, multi-generational fund to provide for immediate and ongoing victims’ family needs, a memorial to the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy, and to establish academic scholarships in the victims’ names for victim classmates and for generations of Newtown students to come. The Fund is incorporated in the State of Connecticut, has applied for 501(c)3 status, and has convened a cross-functional Board of Directors. For more information and to donate, please visit: http://newtownmemorialfund.org. Donations are also accepted by mail at Newtown Memorial Fund, Inc., P.O. Box 596, Botsford, CT 06404

Killed in Friday’s horrific shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School were 20 children, ages 6 and 7, and six adults. The shooter’s mother was also killed Friday. Stories of the adult heroes of this tragedy and tributes to the children who lost their lives are being shared on Facebook and Twitter, by the families and in obituaries. Following are reports about the victims, gathered from news sources and Hartford Courant reporters.

Charlotte Bacon, Age 6

Charlotte Bacon, who would have turned 7 in ...]]> [Courtesy of the Hartford Courant]

Killed in Friday’s horrific shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School were 20 children, ages 6 and 7, and six adults. The shooter’s mother was also killed Friday. Stories of the adult heroes of this tragedy and tributes to the children who lost their lives are being shared on Facebook and Twitter, by the families and in obituaries. Following are reports about the victims, gathered from news sources and Hartford Courant reporters.

Charlotte Bacon, Age 6

Charlotte Bacon, who would have turned 7 in February, was anything but shy.

She was smart, outgoing, precocious and persistent, said her uncle, John Hagen, of Minneapolis.

“She had a big personality. She could carry on a conversation with any adult. She challenged my sister every day. She knew how to get what she wanted.”

Case in point: Charlotte’s mother, Joann, bought her a pink dress and white boots for the holidays. Charlotte had been begging to wear her new outfit early. On the last day of Charlotte’s life, her mom finally gave in.

Another story that stands out in Hagen’s mind: the time the Bacons were vacationing with extended family at a lake. Charlotte was 4 or 5. “I watched her jump off a pontoon into the water without any hesitation,” Hagen said. “She just did it.”

Charlotte had curly, dark red hair. She loved the color pink and going to school. She was so smart, Hagen said, that her parents were thinking about putting her in a special private school because they worried she wasn’t being challenged enough. “This girl was definitely going places,” her uncle said.

Charlotte was born in the Chicago area, a couple of years before Joann and husband Joel relocated to Connecticut. Joann is a stay-at-home mom. Joel, who holds a doctorate, works in New York. Their 9-year-old son, Guy, also was at Sandy Hook on Friday but wasn’t harmed.

Despite having only one sibling, Charlotte had a big family. Joel is one of three brothers. His parents are retired missionaries who now live close to him. Joann, who grew up in Minnesota, is the youngest of six children.

Charlotte also loved being a girl scout, and her mom was her troop leader.

“There were 10 girls in the group,” Hagen said. “Only five are left.”

– Washington Post

Daniel Barden, Age 7

Daniel Barden was an active first-grader and the beloved youngest son of his doting mother and father, Mark and Jackie. “Daniel was fearless in his pursuit of happiness and life,” his family wrote in a statement released to the media. “He earned his ripped jeans and missing two front teeth.”

“He embodied everything that is wholesome and innocent in the world,” the statement said. “Our hearts break over losing him and for the many other families suffering loss.”

The Bardens are often shuttling their children from one activity to the next, said friends, colleagues and neighbors who admired their ability to keep up with their children’s active schedule. This summer, Daniel scored the final goal in the last game of the soccer season. He loved to swim, and his mother’s Facebook page featured a photo of her three children smiling at the beach. On Sunday morning, she posted a public note on Facebook saying, “Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers.”

Jackie Barden is a second-grade teacher at Pawling Elementary School in Pawling, N.Y. She is one of the school district’s reading specialists.

“She is a wonderful mom,” said Lynn Maloney, who teaches second grade in the classroom next to Barden’s. “She was extremely close to her children. She’s a teacher and I’m a teacher, and children are really the centers of our world. She adored her family, and I am sure she must be devastated, like any mom.”

It was around 9:30 a.m. when Barden learned there was a tragedy at her son’s elementary school, colleagues said. A guidance counselor drove a shaken Barden back to Connecticut, where she learned about the loss of her 7-year-old son.

Jackie’s husband, Mark Barden, is a rock guitarist who plays at places such as Proud Mary’s, a local bar, according to Javier Mendizabal, who works there.A forum was set up on a message board called thegearpage.net to offer condolences. One man referred to Mark Barden as a “kind, gentle and humble man, as well as one of the most talented guitarists I know.”

On Saturday, friends and family members gathered in the Sandy Hook section of Newtown to visit the Bardens. A local pastor prayed with them.

Daniel’s brother, James, and sister, Natalie, are listed as ages 12 and 10 on a bio on Jackie Barden’s school Web page.The bio says the family has a pet ball python named Todd and a tortoise named Queenie.

A private wake will be held for Daniel on Tuesday, with the funeral on the following day.

Even for neighbors who did not know them intimately, such as Peter Bernson, there is an image they would see each morning they are sure they will miss — a smiling, laughing boy with a reddish-brown mop top and missing two front teeth, hoisted on his father’s shoulders, headed to the school bus stop.

– Washington Post

Rachel D’Avino, Age 29

In November, Nosenzo photographed the family again — this time for what Nosenzo described as “our annual Christmas card photo shoot” in Tarrywile Park in Danbury.

“This is a tragedy beyond understanding,” Nosenzo wrote on his Web site Saturday.

Her parents and other family members declined requests for interviews over the weekend, but Brian Engel released a statement about his daughter.

Olivia’s favorite colors were pink and purple, he said. Her favorite stuffed animal was a lamb. She loved school and did well in math and reading. She liked to draw and took art classes. She played tennis and soccer, and liked musical theater.

Olivia was a Daisy Girl Scout, enjoyed swimming, and took dance lessons in ballet and hip hop

She was an active member of her family’s church, St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Newtown, where she was supposed to appear in a Nativity play as an angel over the weekend. Every night, she led grace at her family’s dinner table.

“She was insightful for her age and had a great sense of humor,” the family statement said. “She was a grateful child who was always appreciative and never greedy… She was a 6-year-old who had a lot to look forward to.”

A family member serving as spokesman for Olivia’s parents, Brian and Shannon Engel, said he had been communicating with the family by text messages since yesterday, asking what he and other could do to help.

“It’s the same message,” John Engel said. “Just pray for us.”

– Kenneth R. Gosselin; Dan Haar; Washington Post

Josephine Gay, Age 7

Josephine Gay celebrated her seventh birthday on Tuesday.

In a photo circulating on the internet, Josephine peeked out from under a green, toy traffic cone, smiling with her glasses perched on the tip of her nose.

On Sunday, a representative for the family was unable to speak to the media and said that the family’s lawyer would release a statement.

A message on a Facebook tribute page for Josephine read “Rest in peace beautiful angel. Watch over your family and help them stay strong.”

– Brian Dowling

Dawn L. Hochsprung, Age 47

Praised as a model educator, Dawn Hochsprung was hired to lead Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2010.

Mary Ann Jacob, a clerk in the library, said Hochsprung was a friend and “a really amazing woman and a great leader.’

“This is a huge loss,” Jacob told reporters Saturday in Newtown. “We had a book fair a few weeks ago and she dressed up as the reading fairy and had a dress on with lights on it, and went around the classroom putting reading fairy dust on all the kids. She was just an amazing woman.”

She added: “She was strong and fun, and the kids loved her. She was a wonderful woman. When you think about how our school is going to recover, you think about it needing leadership, and she was the person who most could have done that.”

At the start of this school year at Sandy Hook, which has students from kindergarten through fourth grade, she told the Newtown Bee that she was “really excited about bringing a readers workshop into the mainstream of the program. … We capitalize on [students'] love of reading and use that passion to advance their achievement.”

At the start of the school year, Hochsprung wrote a letter to parents about the new security system that had been installed at the school.

— Kenneth R. Gosselin

Dylan Hockley, Age 6

Dylan Hockley smiles online in a series of family photos. He’s Shrek, his mom writes. Or he’s “Super Dylan” — posed in a Superman outfit. In other images, he poses with his brother, Jake.

According to news outlets in Great Britain, Dylan Hockley was born in Winchester, England, and his family moved from that country to Newtown in 2011. According to those reports his father is a native of Great Britain while his mother is American. Dylan’s older brother was also a student at the school.

Dylan had lived across Yogananda Street from where the violence began. His neighbor, Nancy Lanza, was the mother of the suspected shooter — and apparently the first person killed Friday.

– Ken Byron; Washington Post

Madeleine F. Hsu, Age 6

Madeleine F. Hsu was among the youngest victims in Newtown. She had just turned six in July, meaning just five victims were born after her.

“She was a sweet, beautiful little girl,” Karen Dryer, a neighbor of the Hsu family, told the Wall Street Journal.

Dryer described Hsu as a “very upbeat and kind” girl who favored bright dresses.

There wasn’t much information readily available about Hsu. Attempts to reach her family and neighbors in Sandy Hook were unsuccessful. Dr. Matthew Belsmid, who was at the Hsu house on Saturday, told the Associated Press that Hsu’s family did not want to comment.

Memorial Web pages appeared on Facebook and Legacy.com, but they didn’t appear to be connected to Hsu’s family. Instead, they showed the way that these tragedies can impact people a world away. Condolences were offered from across the country, with words of comfort sent to Sandy Hook from as far away as South Africa, the Phillippines and Israel.

The only publicly visible online comment that seemed to come from Hsu’s family came in the form of a hauntingly simple photograph.

A Facebook account belonging to Arline Arnold, believed to be related to Hsu, had its profile picture changed on Friday night to show a young girl smiling brightly. In the picture, a pink bow in the young girl’s hair matched the pink sweater she wore.

Several people offered their condolences to Hsu’s family. A commenter named Christen posted to the account on Saturday night, calling Hsu “a beautiful little soul who was very loved, full of life and I know will be missed dearly by all who knew her.”

– Washington Post

Catherine V. Hubbard, Age 6

Catherine Violet Hubbard was described as having a passion for animals and in an obituary that was released on Sunday her family asked that donations in her memory be made to the Newtown Animal Shelter.

Catherine was born June 8, 2006 and is survived by her older brother, Frederick William; her parents Matthew and Jennifer; her grandparents Susan and Leo Sullivan and her great-grandmother Geraldine Russell Holden, all of West Chester, Penn.; Nancy and Earl Hubbard of Chatham, Mass., along with four uncles, four aunts, and nine cousins survive Catherine.

Matthew and Jennifer Hubbard could not be reached for comment but in a statement her parents released that has been cirulated widely they asked for privacy but also thanked people in the community for their support and the work of police and other emergency responders.

“Her family prays that she, all the students of Sandy Hook Elementary, and all those affected by this brutal event find peace in their hearts,” the family said in the obiturary.

– Ken Byron

Chase Kowalski, Age 7

Chase Kowalski loved to be outside riding his bicycle, running or playing baseball, according to his family and neighbors.

He competed in his first triathlon at age 6, according to his obituary. He was a Cub Scout, and was a “fun loving energetic boy that had a true love of life.”

Kowalski’s family “sends their prayers and thoughts to all of the families involved with this horrific event,” the obituary said.

Just last week, he was visiting neighbor Kevin Grimes, telling him about completing — and winning — his first mini-triathlon.

“You couldn’t think of a better child,” Grimes said.

Grimes’ own five children all attended Sandy Hook, too. Cars lined up outside the Kowalski’s ranch home Saturday, and a state trooper’s car idled in the driveway. Grimes spoke of the boy only in the present tense.

– Shawn Beals

Nancy Lanza, Age 52

Nancy Lanza, the mother of shooter Adam Lanza, was killed Friday morning before her son shot his way into the Sandy Hook School

According to published reports, Lanza had grown up in New Hampshire, where her brother was a long-time police officer. Officials in Kingston, N.H., described her as a kind, considerate and loving person.

Lanza and her former husband, Peter Lanza, were divorced in 2009, according to court records.

It was not clear what Lanza did for a living and according to reports she was not working at the time of the shooting.

Friends and neighbors in Newtown said Lanza was a kind woman with a good sense of humor who participated in events like Labor Day parades. According to reports, Lanza was interested in gardening and took a special interest in in Christmas lights. She was also a member a group of women who met regularly to play bunco, a dice game.

The Lanzas lived on Yogananda Street, a hilly, affluent neighborhood to the east of town.

—Ken Byron; Brian Dowling

Jesse Lewis, Age 6

Kevin Samoskevich works in construction in Shelton and he often ran into Neil Heslin, a fellow building contractor, at the Dew Drop Donut shop in town. They’d exchange pleasantries over coffee and talk about available construction work. Heslin’s son, Jesse Lewis, a happy 6 year old, was always beside him.

“He’s a very nice guy, a very friendly man and always helpful,” Samoskevich said. “We’re all so shocked. I have his Facebook page up in front of me and I don’t know what to write.”

Jesse Lewis died in the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary. Heslin always brought his son with him to job sites during his construction work, Samoskevich said.

“He was a happy child,” Samoskevich said. “A typical boy who was always in and out of things,” on the job sites.

Samoskevich said the tragedy has had a deep impact in the Newtown area and surrounding communities.

“People are very upset here.They’re numb. There’s no happy smiles on anybody’s faces,” Samoskevich said. “People are crying.”

– Washington Post

Ana Grace Marquez-Greene, Age 6

Ana Grace Marquez-Greene died in the shootings while her older brother Isaiah, also at the school, escaped harm. She is the daughter of jazz musician and teacher Jimmy Greene, 37, and his wife Nelba Marquez Greene.

“She never walked anywhere,” the family said in a statement Sunday evening. “Her mode of transportation was dance.”

The couple, high school sweethearts, told the Courant in May that they chose Newtown because it was close to Greene’s job and to the music scene in New York City, where Greene is in demand as a saxophone and flute player, and as a composer and arranger. Their remembrance of Ana Grace recalled the girl’s musical gifts of melody and rhythm. “Ana’s love for singing was evident before she was even able to talk.”

Jimmy and Nelba Greene said that their daughter strengthened them through her love and generosity – noting that Ana would often leave love notes under their pillows “not on special occasions, but, rather, on ordinary days.”

When Ana’s parents would bend down to kiss her, she would step back and pucker her lips, making it clear that she wanted to do the kissing, her parents said.

In 2009, Jimmy Greene included a song, “Ana Grace,” about his daughter on the album, “Mission Statement.”

— Donna Larcen; Owen McNally; Brian Dowling

James Mattioli, Age 6

James Mattioli, known to many simply as “J,” loved life until it was tragically ended on Friday, was a smart, active boy who looked up to – and like – his father, played sports and loved food, an obituary posted online through a Monroe funeral home said.

“I need to go outside, Mom. I need fresh air,” the family recalled James saying often. He loved baseball, basketball swimming and arm wrestling. He and his cousin George played hockey together.

The 6-year-old “proudly” rode his bike without training wheels, his family said.

His family, through the obituary, said that James was born four weeks early at Bridgeport Hospital. It became a joke that his early birth was caused by the fact that he was hungry. James loved hamburgers, omelets with bacon and French toast. When visiting Subway with his parents, he’s once asked how old he would have to be to order a foot-long sub.

He was the first one up in the morning, and would draw and do crafts with his older sister, Anna.

Math and numbers came quickly to James. A friend, Christopher, introduced him to the concept of a googolplex, a number so large it’s physically impossible to write.

– Brian Dowling

Grace McDonnell, Age 7

Chris, Lynn and Jack McDonnell, the parents and older brother of Grace McDonnell, sent in a short statement to The Washington Post: “We are overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support from so many people. Our daughter Grace was the love and light of our family. Words cannot adequately express our sense of loss.”

The Werdens, who live across the street from the McDonnell’s, shared a school bus stop. And so, on many mornings, the Werdens saw Grace’s father, Christopher McDonnell, a competitive runner, out for jog.

“It’s heartbreaking, just heartbreaking,” Todd Werden said. “It’s just unfathomable.”

Werden described Grace as “a real cute little blonde girl with blue eyes — a real little doll.”

The McDonnell family residence was still brightly decorated for the holidays.

“Last night it was all ablaze with Christmas lights,” Werden said.

The Werdens also live close to the home of the shooter, also believed to have shot his mother several times in the head before he went to the Sandy Hook school Friday morning.

“If he was pissed at his family, why did he feel like he needed to go to the school and kill all those kids?” Werden said. “I can’t understand it. Nobody will be able to understand it.”

– Washington Post

Anne Marie Murphy, Age 52

Special-education assistant Anne Marie Murphy — mother of four, protector of so many more — died trying to save her students, according to her father. Hugh McGowan said Murphy was found in a classroom, shielding a group of her beloved children.

“A first responder said she was a hero,” McGowan told Newsday.

Of course she was, said her friend Amy Potucek. “She was so selfless,” said Potucek, who worked at Sandy Hook until moving recently to another school. “I know that Anne Marie was doing everything she could to keep those kids safe, to protect them, because she loved them.”

Murphy, 52, was raised about half an hour away in Katonah, N.Y., where her parents still live. She had six siblings and a serious joie de vivre. Her mother, Alice McGowan, told Newsday that her daughter was “a happy soul” who was devoted to her work and family.

The youngest of Murphy’s four children is a senior in high school; the others have gone on to college and into adulthood. But always, they reconvened at the family home on Great Ring Road. Reached there Sunday, her husband, Mike Murphy, an engineer, said his emotions were too raw for him to talk. “It’s too early, too soon,” he said.

The Murphys’ home is about five miles from the school, near the end of a rural road, by a pond where the kids ice-skate every winter. Anne Marie Murphy tended to brighten the bucolic place, a neighbor said. “She’s a lovely lady, always very pleasant and very upbeat,” said Gerald George, who has lived next door for about 15 years. They would always exchange pleasantries and chat about town news.

“It’s just horrific, what’s happened,” George said. “I can’t fathom the idea that she’s gone and won’t be pulling into the driveway next door, waving and smiling.”

Murphy was a certified teacher who began volunteering at Sandy Hook when her children attended the school, friends said. She settled on working as an educational assistant at Sandy Hook “to be close to and available to her husband and to her children,” Potucek said. “She was the absolute rock in that family.”

She loved walking outdoors, and she loved going to the movies — though she usually avoided the violent ones. And she never saw anything when it was new, always waiting until it landed at the Edmond Town Hall theater, a second-run cinema on Main Street. “It’s only $2 to get in,” Potucek said. “And she had four kids.”

She laughed. It felt right.

“Anne Marie was always so positive,” Potucek said. “She would take any situation and make it happy. She would turn it around and look for the good.”

On Saturday, Murphy had planned to get together with some of her friends for a holiday cookie exchange. They would have eaten too much and laughed even more, and they would have had a great time, friends said. They always did.

– Washington Post

Emilie Parker, Age 6

Emilie Parker was a “bright,” avid artist who acted as a mentor to her 3- and 4-year-old sisters, her father, Robbie Parker, recalled Saturday.

“Emily’s laughter was infectious and all those who met her would agree this world is a better place because she has been in it,” Parker, 30, told reporters in Newtown. “She was beautiful; she was blond, always smiling. She was the type of person that could just light up a room.”

Emilie taught her younger sisters to read, dance and “find the simple joys of life,” Parker said. Her siblings looked up to her and leaned on her for comfort.

Emilie was compassionate, Parker said, and loved to create cards for others. One “special card” she made was even placed in her grandfather’s casket.

“She always had something kind to say about anybody, and her love and the strength she gave us and the example she showed us is remarkable,” he said.

The last conversation Parker said he had with Emilie was Friday morning, in Portuguese. He had been teaching her the language.

“I was leaving for work,” he said. “She told me good morning. She asked how I was doing. … She told me she loved me. I gave her a kiss and I was out the door.”

Parker expressed sympathy for the other families and said he’s sought strength through his family and his faith.

“She is an incredible person,” he said of Emilie, “and I’m so blessed to be her dad.”

— Jenna Carlesso

Jack Pinto, Age 6

He was a Giants fan and a wrestler. Jack Pinto, who was killed Friday at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, became the hero of his sports idol, Giant’s receiver Victor Cruz.

“Jack Pinto ‘My Hero’,” Cruz wrote in Sharpie across his cleats Sunday. “This one is 4 U!”

Cruz, who heard that Jack was a big fan of his, tweeted on Sunday that that his condolences and prayers are with the Pinto family.

A family friend of the Pinto’s contacted FOX-CT’s Rich Coppola to see if he could get a photograph of Jack displayed during Sunday’s Giants game. The friend told Coppola that she heard that Cruz was hoping to attend Jack’s funeral.

“Jack was an incredibly loving and vivacious young boy, appreciated by all who knew him for his lively and giving spirit and steely determination,” read an obituary for Jack on The Newtown Bee’s website. “In life and in death, Jack will forever be remembered for the immeasurable joy he brought to all who had the pleasure of knowing him, a joy whose wide reach belied his six short years”

Also Sunday morning, Jack’s wrestling team paused for a moment of silence before their meet.

– Brian Dowling

Noah Pozner, Age 6

First-grader Noah Samuel Pozner, born in Danbury, was a kind, caring and smart boy, with an occasional “mischievous” streak, his uncle, Alexis Haller, said during a funeral for Noah Monday.

“He liked to tell his sisters that he worked in a taco factory; when they asked him how he got to work, he would give them a funny look as if to say he knew something that they didn’t,” Haller, of Woodinville, Wash., recalled. “He loved animals, video games and Mario Brothers. He was already a very good reader, and had just bought a Ninjago book at a book fair that he was really excited about reading.”

If Noah had had the chance to grow up, Haller said: “He would have become a great man. He would [have] been a wonderful husband and a loving father. He would have been a backbone of our family for years to come.”

Noah attended Sandy Hook Elementary with his twin sister, Arielle, and an older sister, Sophia, 8. Like many twins, the Pozners had been assigned to different classes.

Arielle survived Friday’s rampage. Noah did not.

Noah was a “rambunctious little maverick” who was “smart as a whip,” said his mother, Veronique, speaking through a relative. He loved his family, his parents, his siblings and especially his twin, she said.

“He called her his best friend,” she said.

Noah was an “impish, larger than life little boy,” according to his obituary.

“How do you capture the essence of a six year old in just a few words?,” his obituary said. “Everything he did conveyed action and energy through love. He was the light of our family, a little soul devoid of spite and meanness.”

Rabbi Shaul Praver of Adath Israel in Newtown said that Noah and his family belonged to his congregation and that he had spent much of Friday with the boy’s mother. “He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Praver said.

An inquisitive and “very warm” child, Noah liked to ask about how the world worked, recalled his uncle, Arthur Pozner, who saw Noah for Hanukkah in Brooklyn the Saturday before the shooting.

Noah asked him question after question, he recalled, at one point wondering about the digital display on the toaster oven.

“Is the toaster going to reach 10,000 degrees?” Noah asked his uncle.

“Ten thousand degrees would melt diamonds,” his uncle recalls telling him.

Arthur Pozner said Noah often seemed beyond his years. “For a 6-year-old, he was a very smart kid,” he said.

Noah’s mother is a nurse, and his father, Leonard, works with computers. The family appreciated their charming old New England town and its strong schools, Arthur Pozner said.

“One of the reasons they moved there was the schools,” he said. “They were very good. And it was very safe.”

At the funeral Monday, Haller said people could honor Noah “by loving each other and taking care of each other.”

“That’s what Noah would have wanted,” he said.

Noah is survived by his mother, father, sister and twin, as well as his siblings Danielle and Michael, his grandparents Marie, Dirk, Ivan, Deanna and Lena, uncles and aunts, Arthur, Stephan, Alexi, Patricia and Victoria.

At Noah’s funeral Monday, his uncle, Alexis Haller, of Woodinville, Wash., gave the following eulogy:

On Friday, Dec. 14, we tragically lost a most beloved member of our family. Noah was a 6-year-old little boy, and he was so dear to all of our hearts.

Words cannot express the unfathomable loss we feel.

Noah was a wonderful son and a loving brother. He was kind, caring, smart, funny, and sometimes even a little mischievous. He liked to tell his sisters that he worked in a taco factory; when they asked him how he got to work, he would give them a funny look as if to say he knew something that they didn’t.

Noah was a little kid. He loved animals, video games and Mario Brothers. He was already a very good reader, and had just bought a Ninjago book at a book fair that he was really excited about reading. He was also very excited about going to a birthday party he had been invited to. It was to take place on Saturday, Dec. 15.

Noah loved his family dearly, especially his mom, his dad, his big sisters Danielle and Sophia, his big brother Michael, and his dear twin Arielle. He called Arielle his best friend, and she was — and always had been.

If Noah had not been taken from us, he would have become a great man. He would been a wonderful husband and a loving father. He would have been a backbone of our family for years to come. His loss, and our loss, are deep indeed.

It is unspeakably tragic that none of us can bring Noah back. We would go to the ends of the Earth to do so, but none of us can.

What we can do is carry Noah within us, always. We can remember the joy he brought to us. We can hold his memory close to our hearts. We can treasure him forever. And all of us, including the family, the community, the country and the world, can honor Noah by loving each other and taking care of each other. That’s what Noah would have wanted.

Noah, we love you so much, we miss you dearly, and we will never, ever forget you.

Caroline Previdi, Age 6

Caroline Previdi once went by the nickname “Boo” because she looked like the girl character in the movie “Monsters, Inc.,” said one family friend, who declined to be named.

“She was a total sweetheart. She was adorable,” the family friend said.

Another friend who lives in the Newtown area said Caroline loved gymnastics. “She was a spunky little girl. She had fire to her,” the woman said.

“It’s a warm, loving family,” said Catherina Mola, who lives across the street from the Previdis. “It’s senseless.”

“We’re a pretty close neighborhood,” Mola added.

On Saturday morning, before all the victims’ names became public, some who knew Caroline remembered her on Twitter. “R.I.P Caroline Previdi. You were a very sweet little girl and we will all miss you dearly. #PrayersForNewtown,” tweeted Paige Tremblay.

– Brian Dowling; Washington Post

Jessica Rekos, Age 6

In a pale pink polo dress, 6-year-old Jessica Rekos’s grayish-blue eyes beam into the camera lens. Her arm is wrapped around her younger brother, who has the same eyes.

“They are absolute clones of you guys” says a Facebook friend, commenting on the photo Jessica’s mother, Krista Lehman Rekos, posted Nov. 9.

In another family photo taken from Cape Cod, she stands in the back with her hand on her mother’s shoulder as her family sits in the sand.

Condolences poured in for the Rekos family, who posted photos of Jessica in her honor, including one where she is in the arms of a relative, wearing a princess’s tiara.

In a statement to the Washington Post on Sunday, Jessica’s parents Krista and Rich said their daughter “loved everything about horses.”

“She devoted her free time to watching horse movies, reading horse books, drawing horses and writing stories about horses. We had promised her she could have her very own horse when she turned 10. She asked Santa for new cowgirl boots and a cowgirl hat,” her parents said in the statement.

Jessica was the Rekos’s first born and they said she enjoyed being the big sister to her two little brothers, Travis and Shane. Jessica loved doing research on Orca whales, one of her passions after seeing the movie “Free Willy” last year. In October, she got a chance to visit Sea World and see a live Orca. She spent time, her family said, writing in her journals and making up stories.

Jessica, her family said, “started our family, and she was our rock.”

“She had an answer for everything, she didn’t miss a trick, and she outsmarted us every time,” the statement said. “We called her our little CEO for the way she carefully thought out and planned everything. We cannot imagine our life without her. We are mourning her loss, sharing our beautiful memories we have of her, and trying to help her brother Travis understand why he can’t play with his best friend. We are devastated, and our hearts are with the other families who are grieving as we are.”

– Washington Post

Avielle Richman, Age 6

They called her “Avie.”

She was a curly-haired kid who shared the passion of her parents, Jennifer Hensel and Jeremy Richman, for keeping active outdoors, according to her father’s online postings and family acquaintances.

Avielle Richman took riding lessons on a pony named Betty at Zoar Ridge Stables and had none of the timidity around the big animals one might expect of a 6-year-old. Inspired by Merida, a character in the animated movie “Brave,” she took up archery last summer, firing arrows at a backyard target during breaks from watching the Olympics on television inside.

She did a lot of summer reading that required trips to the library, and her parents rewarded her with an outing for lunch at a restaurant called My Place. She liked too many books to have just one favorite, and got out her crayons for Harry Potter coloring books.

She had a black cat named Molokai who somehow defied gravity to reach the fireplace mantel; Molokai was caught just as a paw dipped into the fish bowl.

Avielle’s family roots were in Connecticut, and they moved back there in 2011 after living in San Diego. She received a kindergarten diploma from Sandy Hook Elementary School in June, and the family took a road trip across eight states to visit Iowa.

She turned 6 nine days before Halloween and blew out the candles on a cake with white frosting and pink trim. The family went to the Castle Hill Farms fall festival and roamed through the pumpkin patch to find the perfect Halloween jack-o’-lantern.

By then, first grade was well underway.

Just before school started, her father, Jeremy, marveled online: “Our little hummingbird is starting first grade tomorrow.”

– Washington Post

Lauren Rousseau, Age 30

Things were looking up for Lauren Rousseau this year: She had a new boyfriend and she landed a permanent substitute teacher job at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

For years, Rousseau, 30, had worked as substitute teacher and now she was one her way in her career, one that Lauren had aspired to even before she herself entered kindergarten.

“We will miss her terribly and will take comfort knowing that she had achieved that dream,” Teresa Rousseau, her mother, said.

Bill Leukhardt, Teresa Rousseau’s longtime partner, said Saturday that the family learned at home at 1 a.m. that Lauren had died. The family hasn’t been given any other information on the circumstances of her death, Leukhardt said.

“We’re at the numb stage right now,” said Leukhardt, a journalist at The Courant.

As a permanent substitute, Lauren Rousseau traveled from classroom to classroom as she was needed.

“We don’t know what put her in harm’s way,” Leukhardt said. “She didn’t have a set gig. We don’t know where she was. All we know is that she is dead.”

A graduate of the University of Connecticut, Lauren was an avid fan of the women’s basketball team, sometimes going to games.

“She was always on social media talking,” Leukhardt said. “She really liked going to Broadway shows.”

— Kenneth R. Gosselin

Statement from Terri Rousseua, mother of Lauren:

The Connecticut State Police confirmed at 1 a.m. today that our beloved Lauren was among the victims of the Newtown shooting. Lauren wanted to be a teacher from before she even went to kindergarten. We will miss her terribly and will take comfort knowing that she had achieved that dream.

Lauren Gabrielle Rousseau was born June 8, 1982 in Danbury, where she lived for most of her life. She was a graduate of Danbury High Schood. She had a bachelor’s degree from the University of Connecticut and a master’s degree in elementary education from the University of Bridgeport. She had worked as a substitute teacher in Danbury, New Milford and Newtown before she was hired in November as a permanent substitute teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.

Mary Sherlach, Age 56

Sherlach had worked as the school psychologist at Sandy Hook Elementary School since 1994 and had served on numerous districtwide committees, including the conflict resolution committee, according to a biography on the Newtown Public Schools website.

Sherlach lived in Trumbull and was married with two adult daughters — one a high school chorus teacher in New Jersey and the other a graduate student at Georgetown University. Sherlach wrote in the biography that she and her husband, Bill, enjoyed traveling and spending time at their lake house in the Finger Lakes in upstate New York. Her hobbies were gardening, reading and the theater.

“I truly enjoy working with the SHS staff, parents and children and am always ready to assist in problem solving, intervention and prevention,” she wrote.

— Kenneth R. Gosselin

Victoria Soto, Age 27

Victoria Soto was a first-grade teacher in Room 10 next to where the shooting began. Soto hid her students, some in a bathroom. By thinking quickly, she is credited with saving the 15 or 16 children in her class.

Adam Lanza, according to sources familiar with the investigation, walked in, shot her and went back into the hallway looking for another class. The source said there’s no doubt the suspect would have fired at more students if he had seen them.

Tim Snellman, father of a 12-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter who attended Sandy Hook, expected he’d know some of the teachers, but he didn’t realize how close the tragedy would come to his family.

“Victoria Soto was a tutor for my son for a couple of years. She was really good,” Snellman said. “Really pleasant girl, really smart, Matthew liked going to her. she knew how to connect with my son. She absolutely did a great a job with him. His grades improved immediately after working with her.”

“We just live right down the street, and I spoke to her after every session,” two days a week for two years, he said.

He knows two of the families who lost children, because their older siblings were in the cub scouts, where he was a leader, and one of them used to play regularly with his son.

When he read the list, he said, “Oh my God, that was Scarlett’s son?”

Scarlett Lewis is Jesse Lewis’s mother. Snellman asked: “How do you face these people now?”

“I’m so proud of her. Because of what she did, there are parents who can have Christmas with their children,” childhood friend Jessica Zrallack said at a vigil outside Stratford town hall on Saturday, shivering in the middle of the somber crowd. “She’s a real hero. I wouldn’t have expected anything less of her. I don’t think there’s one person who could say anything bad about her.”

“We lost a very special person. She was living her dream – she wanted to be a teacher, but look at the price she paid for it,” Zrallack said.

“She was always a good person. I remember her back to first grade. We were in the same class in fourth grade — the Soto family was like a second family to me, and she was very family involved,” said Aquiles Rodriguez of New York City.

“When I heard about the shooting, I thought that was really bad. But when I heard the story that it was her,” Rodriguez said, pausing and looking to the ground. “When I heard it was her, I just got on the train to come up and be with the fam.”

— Mara Lee; Kenneth R. Gosselin; Don Stacom

Benjamin Wheeler, Age 6

Even as a toddler, Benjamin Andrew Wheeler had the bright eyes and comedic timing of a performer. His father, David, was a longtime actor. His mother, Francine, recorded bouncy children’s music. And Ben loved cracking them both up.

In a “happy birthday” video for Ben’s grandfather — which was posted online in 2008 and featured big brother Nate drawing a green, yellow and purple birthday robot — Ben went off-script with his own improvisations. Instead of birthday wishes, he kept giving hearty shout-outs to Grandpa’s wife, Kay-Kay, to his parents’ clear delight.

“He was a feisty little 6-year-old,” said family friend Sophfronia Scott. “He and my son loved to run and jump and throw leaves and everything you thought a young boy would love to do.”

Ben was creative like his parents. He painted kid pictures and studied piano with his mother, who gives lessons. The Sunday before he died, he had a recital with fellow students.

“Spirited” is how Rabbi Shaul Praver of the Adath Israel congregation in Newtown put it. Though Ben and his family were members of Trinity Episcopal Church, they once attended a Hanukkah celebration at the synagogue.

“There’s always some brave individual who goes up to the dance floor to get everybody involved,” Praver said. “That was Ben Wheeler.”

Ben’s comedy was a hit among the under-10 set. Scott’s son, Tain, 8, recalled that when they would watch TV together, Ben would offer his own voice-overs for TV characters. Ben would replace a bit of dialogue, such as “follow the flashing light,” with the much more popular “follow the flashing butt.”

“That’s what kids do,” Scott said.

The adults were some of his biggest fans.

When the grown-ups and kids gathered at David Wheeler’s birthday party last year, Darryl Gregory, Scott’s husband, performed a playful song titled “Too Many Kids in This House.”

As Ben and the children were laughing, getting swept up in the rollicking tune, Ben cut in with a pretty important question: What does he mean there are too many kids in this house?

The house went wild.

“There were times we would say, ‘Ben is smarter than all of us,’ ” Scott said.

On Monday, the Wheeler family released the following statement:

Ben Wheeler was an irrepressibly bright and spirited boy whose love of fun and excitement at the wonders of life and the world could rarely be contained. His rush to experience life was headlong, creative and immediate.

He was a devoted fan of his older brother, Nate, and the two of them together filled the house with the noise of four children. He loved the local soccer program, often running across the field long after it was actually necessary, but always smiling and laughing as he moved the ball nearly always at full tilt.

He was becoming a strong swimmer and loved his lessons. Eager to learn, he couldn’t wait to get to school to see his teacher and his growing group of new first grade friends. Ben was also a member of Tiger Scout Den 6 which met at the Sandy Hook Volunteer Firehouse. Earlier in December, Ben performed at his piano recital and sitting still long enough to play one piece was an accomplishment he reveled in.

He loved The Beatles, lighthouses, and the number 7 train to Sunnyside, Queens. In a conversation with Francine before school on Friday, he said, “I still want to be an architect, but I also want to be a paleontologist, because that’s what Nate is going to be and I want to do everything Nate does.”

The family’s statement said Ben was born in Manhattan and moved to Newtown in 2007 with his parents, Francine and David Wheeler, and Nate, who is now 9.

– Washington Post

A statement from the family of Benjamin Wheeler:

Ben Wheeler was an irrepressibly bright and spirited boy whose love of fun and excitement at the wonders of life and the world could rarely be contained. His rush to experience life was headlong, creative and immediate. He was a devoted fan of his older brother, Nate, and the two of them together filled the house with the noise of four children. He loved the local soccer program, often running across the field long after it was actually necessary, but always smiling and laughing as he moved the ball nearly always at full tilt. He was becoming a strong swimmer and loved his lessons. Eager to learn, he couldn’t wait to get to school to see his teacher and his growing group of new first grade friends. Ben was also a member of Tiger Scout Den 6 which met at the Sandy Hook Volunteer Firehouse. Earlier in December, Ben performed at his piano recital and sitting still long enough to play one piece was an accomplishment he reveled in. He loved The Beatles, lighthouses, and the number 7 train to Sunnyside, Queens. In a conversation with Francine [his mother] before school on Friday, he said, “I still want to be an architect, but I also want to be a paleontologist, because that’s what Nate is going to be and I want to do everything Nate does.”

Allison N. Wyatt, Age 6

Allison Wyatt was a six-year-old student of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.

Kate Capellaro of All for Kids in Ridgefield last say Allison over the summer and described her to the New Haven Register: “She was a very shy girl, she was quiet and kept to herself, but she would smile at things. If a kid did something funny, she’d be laughing.”

Messages on a Facebook tribute for Allison read “Our prayers go out to you and your family,” and “Rest in Peace and look over those who love you.”

– Courant Staff Report

A statement released by Cheyanne and Ben Wyatt, Allison’s parents:

Allison was a kind-hearted little girl who had a lot of love to give, and she formed special bonds with most people who spent any amount of time with her. She loved her family and teachers especially, but would often surprise us with random acts of kindness – once even offering her snacks to a complete stranger on a plane. Allison loved drawing and wanted to be an artist, often turning parts of the house into an “art studio” with rows of pictures taped to the walls. She loved to laugh and was developing her own wonderful sense of humor that ranged from just being a silly six-year old to coming up with observations that more than once had us crying with laughter.

Allison made the world a better place for six, far too short years and we now have to figure out how to move on without her. She was a sweet, creative, funny, intelligent little girl who had an amazing life ahead of her. Our world is a lot darker now that she’s gone. We love and miss her so much.

[Originally published at courant.com: http://articles.courant.com/2012-12-17/news/hc-newtown-victims-1217-20121216_1_joann-charlotte-bacon-three-children]

Mauriello, the father of a 6-year-old boy who does not attend Sandy Hook Elementary but a neighboring elementary school in Newtown, felt called to action after his child was spared the ...]]> NEWTOWN, CT (Dec. 17) – Brian Mauriello, a longtime resident of Newtown, CT, and a Newtown High School graduate, has established the Newtown Memorial Fund which is dedicated to ensuring the community has a repository that will honor the memory of the 26 victims who perished at Sandy Hook Elementary on Dec. 14, 2012.

Mauriello, the father of a 6-year-old boy who does not attend Sandy Hook Elementary but a neighboring elementary school in Newtown, felt called to action after his child was spared the horrific events that recently took place.

“I’ve chosen to do something that I think this community will need — not just today or next year, but for generations to come. We need an enduring memorial fund,” says Mauriello. “No amount of money will bring back our loved ones but our hope is that through the centralization of others’ gifts and fundraising work, coupled with our own, we will achieve much more. An integrated approach will provide immediate support, while helping to ensure the victim’s memories are preserved as we make strides for our community to be improved in the future.”

The mission of the Newtown Memorial Fund is threefold:
1. Short-term: To provide financial relief for funeral expenses of those who perished in the Sandy Hook Elementary School Massacre of December 14, 2012. We are hearing now after day 3 that some or all of the funeral expenses are being covered by many donors. If this is true and our assistance is not needed for these expenses, we know there are other immediate expenses for Police duty overtime, and other Community financial needs that arise.
2. Mid-term: To assist Newtown with the design, placement and funding to create a lasting memorial for the community in honor of the 26 victims.
3. Ongoing: To provide an annual scholarship fund that would benefit students of the Newtown Public Schools who will go on to attend college.

Mauriello suggests that those interested in helping visit the fund’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/NewtownMemorialFund. People can also donate or share memories and tributes via the facebook page or the fund’s website at www.newtownmemorialfund.org. Donations are also accepted by mail at the following address:

Newtown Memorial Fund
P.O. Box 596
Botsford, CT 06404

Donations can also be made online at http://everribbon.com/ribbon/view/10088