JACKSONVILLE, Fla — Friends, family and students gathered Sunday to hold a vigil in memory of an Atlantic Coast High School teacher who was found dead inside her Westside home.
The vigil for Vivian James, 49, was held at Friendship Fountain on the Southbank at 5 p.m. Sunday. Attendees brought candles and wore purple, her favorite color, to honor her.
James worked as a science teacher at Atlantic Coast High School in Jacksonville. Before that, she worked at Andrew Jackson High School.
"If you have an attitude, she was going to love you," a former student said. "If you hated chemistry, she was going to love you. She was going to fail you with a smile."
Family, friends and students, both current and former, shared their favorite memories of James.
"If you know chemistry, the first law of thermodynamics is energy is not created nor is it destroyed -- it can only be transformed or changed into another type of form," former student and vigil organizer Sarah Wise said. "I feel as though that her energy is still with us."
They also remembered James by doing the things she loved most -- singing and dancing.
"Every Friday, she used to play music and just always be energetic," one of James' current students, Macy Jean Baptiste, told First Coast News, "and it would always be Beyoncé or anything because she was a big Beyoncé fan. What I want to do to spread that is I want to play music every Friday."
More questions than answers remain in James' death, as JSO ruled the incident a homicide but has not released any suspect information.
JSO has not confirmed the identity of the woman found dead inside the home in the 5100 block of Glen Alan Court, but family members, friends, co-workers and students all said the victim is James.
A celebration of life will be held at Atlantic Coast High School on Saturday, Jan. 11 at 10 a.m.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 904-630-0500 or Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.