‘It’s the Least We Can Do’: Parents of Colleen Ritzer Determined to Keep Her Memory Alive
(Andover, MA) Thirteen years after her death, Colleen Ritzer is still remembered not for how she died, but how she lived.
The parents of the beloved Danvers High School teacher would not allow it to be any other way.
“Colleen was a very positive person, and we try very hard to carry that on for her,” said Tom Ritzer, Colleen’s father. “It’s the least we can do.”
Tom and Peggie Ritzer have not done a lot of interviews since their daughter was killed by a Danvers High student in 2013. They sat down with NewsCenter 5’s Maria Stephanos in their Andover home for one reason: for Colleen Ritzer.
“We do want the positive story told of Colleen because it should be about Colleen. It shouldn’t be about what happened to her,” Peggie Ritzer said. “It should be about who she was and the impact that her life made on so many and just continues to make now.”
