Vivacious. If there was one word to describe Judith Manzo, 37, friends say that was it.

"There was nothing that anybody could do to get Judy's spirits down," said Karen Brown, Manzo's friend and manager at the East Providence branch of First Choice Medical Staffing, where Manzo was an administrative assistant. "Even if somebody was angry or yelling or upset, she always saw the good in them. There was nothing bad about her. She always had something positive to say."

Manzo, lived in North Providence with her ex-husband, Anthony Manzo, and their two children, 10-year-old Brianna and Anthony, 12. Brown, 42, said outside work, her life revolved around the lives of her children.

"She did everything from bowling to sledding to swimming with them," Brown said. "She did it all."

Brown said Manzo had gone to The Station with a friend who had bought tickets. The children were home with their father.

Brown said she will miss an excellent employee who can't be replaced.

"Every single person -- and I'm not saying this because she's gone -- every single person who met Judy loved Judy," she said.