Colleen Ritzer, the beloved math teacher whose body was found in the woods near where she taught, lives on through the students and community she touched.

As details emerge about Philip Chism’s alleged involvement in the murder, focus has been given to the tragic loss of life.

The intelligent, twenty-four-year-old Danvers High School teacher left encouraging messages through her Twitter account and was known for trying to make the discipline as fun and as exciting as possible.

Yay math! pic.twitter.com/2FOBcE5hWH

— Colleen Ritzer (@msritzermath) October 17, 2013

Good luck to sophs/juniors on PSATs tomorrow 🙂 I hope there's a proof on there…that would be so much more fun!

— Colleen Ritzer (@msritzermath) October 16, 2013

Full school week ahead. That can only mean one thing: lots of math fun 🙂

— Colleen Ritzer (@msritzermath) September 8, 2013

Seventeen-year-old Christian Veatch was a senior in Ritzer’s class and remembers how Colleen was able to bring fun into the classroom.

“She’d just joke around. I loved her class. I hate math, but she made it fun,” Veatch said.

Ritzer was known to spend time with her students where reports even claim that she had offered to help Philip Chism study for a test on the day of the murder.

“We ended up talking out in the hall for like 20 minutes. I walked in the class feeling a lot better, more happy. I was ready to do my work. In 20 minutes, she totally changed my attitude. It was amazing,” Veatch said.

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Mary Duffy of Andover, who is a neighbor of the Ritzer family, recently spoke with the Boston Herald about Colleen Ritzer.

“If every family had a daughter like Colleen Ritzer, it would be a wonderful world. She always wanted to teach math. Her mother, I believe, is probably a math whiz. She was a quiet, pleasant girl with many friends. She was just like the ideal daughter. She is. This family is a family of America, They are the ideal family, they are friendly, they are loving, close,” Duffy said.

No matter what happens in life, be good to people. Being good to people is a wonderful legacy to leave behind.

— Colleen Ritzer (@msritzermath) August 11, 2013

[Images Via R.I.P. Colleen Ritzer Facebook Page]