Candlelight vigil for Newtown teacher Victoria Soto

STRATFORD, Conn. (WTNH) -- Sandy Hook teacher Victoria Soto, a teacher who gave her own life to save the children hiding in her classroom, was the focus of a special vigil in Stratford.

Surrounded by candlelight, Soto's family, awash in sorrow, showed pride in their sister.

"She died doing what she loved, protecting the kids," her sister said. "That mean the world to her."

Victoria Soto, 27, is being hailed as a hero for putting herself in harms way. At the sound of gunfire she hid first graders in a classroom closet so the gunman had only one target when he entered the classroom.

"Somebody like Victoria who did what she did to save those children, I just pray my daughter has a teachers like that in her school," said Jessica Zrallack, who attended the vigil.

Nearly 300 gathered on the Green to pay tribute to this Stratford High graduate now known as the hero teacher. Strangers clutched candles also showed support in wearing Victoria's favorite color of green.

"The kids lives that she saved that day -- that's it. She is just a hero," Zrallack said.

A passionate teacher known to call her students angels, Soto in a single moment became their guardian angel.

"And they're kids now that are able to say they are here today because she sacrificed her life so they could live another day," Soto's sister said.

The community is encircling this grieving family that lost someone who in the end gave so much, gave of herself.