Memorial service set for Dallas Green's granddaughter

The memorial serivce for Christina Taylor Green, the 9-year-old granddaughter of former Phillies manager Dallas Green, is scheduled for Thursday.

The service will be held at 1 p.m. at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in northwest Tucson with Bishop Gerald Kicanas presiding, according to reports in Tucson.

Christina was among six people killed Saturday by a gunman at a supermarket in Tucson. U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head.

Christina, a third-grader who had been voted to the student council, went to the event with a neighbor in hopes of meeting her Congresswoman.

Dallas Green and his wife, Sylvia, traveled to Arizona on Sunday to be with his son John and wife Roxanna and grandson Dallas, 11.

"This is such a tough time for Sylvia and I and for John and Roxanna and little Dallas," Dallas Green said in a statement. "We thank everybody from the bottom of our hearts for their friendship, thoughts and prayers, especially the Phillies and our extended family in baseball. Somehow we will get through this, but right now our little 9-year-old granddaughter is not here and we're having a hard time with that."

The family has created a memorial fund in Christina's honor at the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona.

"Our family has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love for our sweet Christina," her father, John, said. "This memorial fund will ensure her legacy for the children in our community."

Those wishing to donate can do so in several ways:

* Logging on to the Web site of the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona at http://www.cfsoaz.org and clicking on the link to the Christina Taylor Green Memorial Fund;

* Contacting the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona by email at christinataylorgreenmemorial@cfsoaz.org, or by phone at 520-545-0313.

* Checks may be sent to: The Community Foundation for Southern Arizona In Memory of Christina Taylor Green, 2250 E. Broadway Boulevard Tucson, AZ 85719