People smile all the time. Leslie Sherman beamed.
And it wasn't just to show off her dentist's hard work either, Sherman was truly a font of positivity for those around her.
"She was a wonderful girl," said her grandmother Gerry Adams. "Very responsible, very bright and very respectful of everybody. A smile never left her face."
Her friends also took notice of her almost permanent 20-tooth grin.
"She had a contagious smile," wrote West Springfield High School classmate, Ashley Nickle on nytimes.com. "Leslie was a sweetheart. She was funny, energized, motivated and over all just a happy, happy person. I can't even explain how her smile just made others smile; she was just a wonderful and caring person."
Perhaps more important than Sherman's infectious smile was her love of service to others. The junior history major and West End employee had paid her own way to travel to Mississippi and Louisiana to help the rebuilding efforts after Hurricane Katrina devastated the area.
"That's the kind of person she was," Adams said after recounting a story of Sherman's generosity. "(She) wanted to help, the reward didn't matter. It was the pleasure of doing it, not that someone would pay her for it."
A student in the University Honors program, Sherman had also developed a deep passion for history. Both engaging and studious, her high school teachers recognized her talent and ability early on.
"I was fortunate to teach Leslie Sherman in my advanced placement European history course at West Springfield High School," said West Springfield teacher Ronald Maggiano to nytimes.com. "She was a wonderful student with a creative mind and a great sense of humor. She was especially known for her beautiful smile and positive attitude. Leslie was always happy and cheerful and brought out the best in others. Academically, she was brilliant without being 'bookish.'"
In addition to being president of West Springfield's history honor society, Sherman ran cross country all four years of high school and was beloved by teammates.
"She always kept telling me: 'You can do it. It's just another mile or two or six,'" high school teammate and Florida State student Emily Grossman told the Washington Post. "She cheered us all on."
In fact, friends were so touched by Sherman's hard work and exuberance that they have decided to hold a race in her honor and donate the proceeds to a scholarship fund in her name.
A Facebook group started by Grossman titled "Run for Leslie," almost 600 members strong, is hosting a race at Burke Lake Park in Springfield on June 23in remembrance of Sherman.
"It was really the first thing that I thought of when one of my old teammates called me Monday night about Leslie," Grossman told the Washington Post. "The first thing I said was: 'We'll have to get the team together and run something for her.'"
The willingness to preserve Sherman's legacy of good will has impressed and inspired Sherman's family.
"It means all the world, it means all the world." Adams said. "They're perpetuating the good that she wanted to accomplish in her life…I've just made a pledge to myself, we're going to find every way possible that we can contribute to the kind of goals Leslie would have had."
