A Huntington Beach high school planned to hold a private memorial Sunday afternoon for one of its alumni, Christina Mauser, who died in the helicopter crash that also took the life of Kobe Bryant and seven others on Jan. 26.
Christina Mauser helped coach the Mamba Academy team on which Bryant’s daughter Gianna played.
The three, along with two of Gianna’s teammates and three of their family members, were headed to a game at the sports facility in Thousand Oaks when they slammed onto a Calabasas hillside in foggy conditions. The crash killed all nine people aboard, including the pilot.
Mauser, 38, left behind a husband and three young children. Her youngest, a daughter, would turn 4 years old just days after her death, her husband Matt Mauser told CNN.
Following a public vigil at the Huntington Beach Pier on Feb. 1, Christina Mauser’s alma mater, Edison High School, organized a private gathering at the campus gym.
The 1 p.m. event on Sunday was only open to members of the school community, representative Carrie Williams said in a statement.
Mauser, who had been inducted into the high school’s athletic hall of fame, graduated from the school in 1999.
“Christina was a stand-out athlete and student at the school — playing both varsity basketball and volleyball — and leading her teams to several titles while setting numerous records,” the statement said.
Mauser later coached basketball at a private K-8 campus in Corona del Mar between 2007 and 2018. That’s how she met Bryant, her spouse told NBC’s “Today” show.
She passed on her passion for the game to her 11-year-old daughter, who played at Bryant’s basketball academy.
The retired Laker legend would recruit Mauser to help coach Gianna’s team.
“Kobe had seen her skill,” her husband told CNN. “Kobe was incredible at recognizing talent.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up for the Mauser family.