The Connecticut teenager had three wishes: to travel to Spain, to kiss in the rain, and to save a life.
Over the next few years, Rebecca fulfilled the first two items on her bucket list, her sister Victoria Townsend told BuzzFeed News. Rebecca traveled to Spain with her family and kissed her boyfriend in the rain.
On July 2, Rebecca went to watch fireworks with friends. On the way back, she and her friend Ben Arne were struck by a car. Arne survived, but Rebecca died.
After Arne was released from the hospital, he visited the Townsend family and told them Rebecca had saved his life by pushing him away from the car. "He said, 'The last thing I remember is Rebecca pushing me and telling me to hurry up,'" Victoria said.
Now the family is hoping people will honor Rebecca's legacy by serving others in her memory. “She was just full of love and full of kindness and compassion and charity," Victoria said.
They have set up a Facebook page called Remembering Rebecca to encourage people to "remember Rebecca by going out and doing something that matters," Rebecca's cousin Rachel Hofstetter told BuzzFeed News.
Victoria said she has been extremely touched by all of the responses. "It means a lot to me that’s she's living on in people's hearts and people's minds," she said.
