'The most wonderful person in world'

SANDY — The soft, somber, funereal music softly playing over the room's speakers was interrupted by the harsh thumpa-thumpa of N.E.R.D.'s "Rock Star."

The hip-hop song prompted giggles among the mourners who gathered Friday for Vanessa Quinn's funeral. While there were plenty of tears, there were also laughs and smiles as the ceremony became a celebration of her life.

"We're here to celebrate the life of somebody who was the most wonderful person in the world," said her husband, Rich Quinn. "I loved Vanessa."

The 29-year-old woman, known to everyone as "Ness" or "Nessa," was gunned down at Trolley Square on Monday night. She had gone to meet her husband to finally buy a set of wedding bands.

"We got married four years ago," he said. "We didn't have money. We never wore wedding rings. I was meeting her there to buy a wedding ring."

On Friday, he wore that ring — which was donated to him by a pair of merchants.

Hundreds packed Larkin Sunset Gardens to pay their last respects and share stories of her many adventures and a magnetic personality that made anyone an instant friend.

"She's touched my heart," said her friend Deidre Russo. "Always willing to give 500 percent of herself to us."

While her family said Vanessa Quinn would have thought the funeral to be too formal and would have been shocked at how many people dressed up for her, one by one, people came up to the podium to share their stories of Nessa.

"She was without question one of the finest human beings I have ever met," said Stephen Tryon, who worked with her at Overstock.com. "Vanessa was a joyful person."

As they left, they would hug Rich or pat him on the back. Off to his side — Nessa was there. Her funeral was open-casket, and people stopped to see her, kiss her forehead and say goodbye.

"We're fortunate enough we can see her and say our goodbyes," her brother-in-law, Ed Quinn, told the gathering. "A lot of the other families can't do that."

Near her casket were items that told stories about Vanessa Quinn's life. There were posters of her, smiling and laughing on one adventure or another in the outdoors. Her mountain bike was parked there. In a chair were her soccer shoes with the green soles.

"That's all you saw was the bottom of those green shoes; she'd go flying by you and take the ball away," said one member of her soccer team, eulogizing her.