Memorial services scheduled for Vetterani>

Three months after her death, memorial services for former La Cañada resident Rebecca Jones Vetterani have been scheduled at her First Presbyterian Church in Upland.

Vetterani was killed on June 23 when a truck and trailer struck the church van she was driving, igniting the vehicle and causing the deaths of three other passengers — high school students who were returning from a mission trip to Bishop.

Her husband, Thomas Vetterani, was also in the van and suffered critical injuries. Due to the severity of his condition, the Upland church made the decision to postpone memorial services for Vetterani until his health had improved.

Rebecca Diane Jones Vetterani was born Nov. 1, 1978 in Ohio and in 1986, her family relocated to La Cañada.

Known as Becca Jones during her youth, Vetterani excelled at La Cañada High School and became the first Spartan to score a perfect 1600 on the SAT.

Outside the classroom, Vetterani enjoyed sports and was a four-year varsity player for the La Cañada girls’ varsity basketball team. During her high school years she scored more than 1,200 career points and was a two-time team MVP.

“She was a wonderful person, a real plus to the school,” said then-principal Mike Leininger. “She was a great athlete, involved in all facets of school life, and she was well-liked by her peers.”

Vetterani graduated summa cum laude from Wheaton College in 2001 with a degree in Biblical studies.

She married Thomas Allen Vetterani in May of 2001. In June of 2007, Vetterani received her Masters in Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary.

Though Vetterani enjoyed sports and classical guitar, her heart was in her ministry at La Cañada Presbyterian Church, Church of the Resurrection in Illinois, Gynedd Square Presbyterian in Pennsylvania and First Presbyterian in Upland.

Services for Rebecca Jones Vetterani will be held at 4 p.m. on Sept. 22 in the sanctuary of the First Presbyterian Church at 869 N. Euclid Avenue, Upland.

Vetterani is survived by her husband, Tom and 2-year-old daughter, McKayla Adin, of Rancho Cucamonga; her parents Hugh and Diane Jones of Upland; her brother Hugh A. Jones III of Westerville, Ohio; her sister Karyn M. Chudasama of Upland; her grandmother Martha Vaughn of Buena Park; and her grandmother Vera Jones of Lee’s Summit, Mo. She was preceded in death by her brother Christopher David Jones in August 1982.

In lieu of flowers, those wishing to honor Becca’s memory are asked to send a donation to the Rebecca Jones Vetterani Memorial Youth Fund at First Presbyterian in Upland or to the Rebecca Jones Vetterani Memorial HoneyRock Leadership Fund at Wheaton College, 501 College Ave., Wheaton, Il. 60187.