Newly-released photos show the gated plot where Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna were laid to rest last week.
The pair were killed in a helicopter crash outside Los Angeles on January 29, and last week, they were buried in a small ceremony for friends and family. Newly-released pictures show the colorful and gated plot where they were buried, a final resting place with a view of the ocean.
As The Daily Mail reported, the plot cost $500,000 and is adorned with newly-planted purple and gold flowers, the colors of Kobe’s team, the Los Angeles Lakers. The gravesites are also surrounded by balloons and pinwheels, which the report noted represented a child’s death. The pictures also showed that the burial plot was surrounded by a stone fence with a black metal gate in front.
The report added that the two have unmarked headstones, as they are still awaiting inscription, and have an engraving of rosaries in the shape of a heart to represent the Bryant’s family’s Catholic faith. As the report noted, Kobe and his family were regular churchgoers and attended service the morning before the fatal crash.
As the report noted, the final resting place has more significance to the family and their nearby home.
“The private plot is at the very top of the cemetery and looks directly down onto Newport Coast toward Bryant’s family home and the Pacific Ocean,” the report noted.
The report did not disclose the exact location of the graves, but the Mercury News noted that they were in the Pacific View Memorial Park in Newport Beach, which is also the final resting place for actor and California native John Wayne.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-C37HtqHLk
After the private funeral was held last week, the family and community have plans for a much more public memorial set for February 24 in the Staples Center, where Kobe played for the Lakers. As Yahoo Sports reported, organizers have distributed tickets to a large number of the Bryant family and friends as well as NBA representatives, and a limited number will be available for purchase for the general public for $224 per ticket. As the report noted, proceeds will go to the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation, a charity established to carry on the legacies of Kobe and Gianna.
The public memorial will be televised and is expected to draw significant attention as those who played with Kobe and knew him honor his life and the legacy he left on the game of basketball.