HONOLULU -- Faculty and students returned to Waianae High School with heavy hearts on Monday.

They mourned their colleague, teacher and friend whose passion for books was contagious.

Gary and Pam Asa Yamashita loved to read and she is credited with encouraging hundreds of students and teachers to get excited about reading.

Flowers, balloons and a photo honored the life of Yamashita at the school where staff said her legacy continues to live on. She worked at Waianae High School for nearly two decades.

"She always made everyone feel special, and now she's gone," said Waianae senior Ashley Guerrero.

Guerrero and her classmate are putting together a video in memory of Yamashita.

"Whenever you passed by her in the hallway she would always give you a big smile even if she didn't know you she would," tell you good job," Guerrero said.

She was an avid reader who taught English and headed the school's literacy program.

She worked closely with teachers, challenging them to show their students reading can be fun.

"Asa is primarily responsible for our HSA scores in reading climbing every single year. She's the book lady," said principal Joann Kumasaka. "She used to go into the classrooms and do book talks and ask the kids what you would like to read."

Yamashita was not just a colleague but a close friend to many of the staff.

They say she was a positive and selfless person.

"If a kid asked specifically for a book, she would go out and find the book then she would go and find the student that wants the books," said Janice Uemori, faculty member and friend.

Counselors and psychologists are on campus to help teachers and students cope with Yamashita's apparently random and brutal slaying.

District educational specialist Marie Burghardt said the specialists would help the students and "let them process the loss, assist with that, help them understand that some of the feelings that they have and thoughts that they have are natural."

In the school's cafeteria, students are recognized for their reading efficiency -- they represent just a handful of the lives Yamashita touched.