Friends say victim lived for her job

NEWTOWN, Conn. (WTNH) -- Rachel D'Avino was a teacher's aide and behavioral therapist at Sandy Hook Elementary School who was just days away from being engaged.

Friends say Rachel D'Avino, 29, lived for her job.

She loved children and they loved her right back.

"I can be fine one moment and the next moment I just lose it. I can be totally sane and then all of a sudden just fall on the floor," Jennifer Jeffrey a friend of Rachel's said.

She says she'll miss her friend and her bright personality.

"She was a beautiful person, very caring, loving," Jeffrey said.

A Bethlehem native, she recently started working at Sandy Hook Elementary with special needs children. Friends say she was patient and showed passion for her work.

"Yeah, oh my gosh, she was so funny. We used to have little parties at the house here with the kids who she loved and she always had some kind of joke to say," Jeffrey said.