In the week and half since Newton South High School math teacher Chrysolite Fitzgerald passed away, former colleagues have shared their memories of their colleague who will be dearly missed.

Fitzgerald passed away at the age of 55 on July 24 following a brief illness. The Newton South community was informed by email by Interim Principal Caitlin Brown, who offered resources for grieving students. A celebration of life was held Monday, Aug. 3 at the Larz Anderson Park Shelter in Brookline.

A Newton Public Schools teacher for 12 years, Fitzgerald will be remembered as a joyful and kind person by the school’s math department and beyond.

Wendy Armagost, a behavioral technician at Newton South, was one of Fitzgerald’s closest friends and colleagues. She told the Newton Beacon that Fitzgerald was well-loved and trusted by her students and colleagues.

“It’s mind-blowing that she’s gone because she was such a vibrant, full, alive person,” Armagost said. “She was a wonderful person, she was an incredible teacher and she was my best friend.”

Armagost said that Fitzgerald was a representative for the Newton Teachers Association in the past year and had become more interested in being involved in the union following the teacher strikes in the winter of 2024.

“She had a great rapport with students … the students saw her as a safe space to go to in her classroom,” Armagost added. She said she had celebrated Fitzgerald’s birthday with her just a few days before Fitzgerald passed.

Newton South math teacher Hayley Donati said Fitzgerald was one of the district’s greatest advocates for LGBTQ+ students, students of color and other marginalized groups. Colleagues described her as a “huge voice for our union” and a “social justice warrior outside of school.”

Fitzgerald most recently taught during The Calculus Project, the district’s summer program that provides low-income students and students of color with math enrichment to help them succeed during the school year. Colleagues said she cared deeply about the program and its students being able to gain confidence in math.

Newton South math teacher Leslie Quattrini worked with Fitzgerald for more than a decade. She spoke of her former colleague very fondly.

“She looked at everyone without judgment, and I’m talking friends, colleagues and students,” she said. “She had the most magnetic laugh—you could hear it through the hallways and you knew Chrys was coming.”

Quattrini shared how Fitzgerald had always embraced advances in technology during the many years she taught math, through the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

“She was always looking for a way to—instead of being afraid of technology and trying to tell the kids ‘you need to put that away’—she was finding a way to make it useful and engage the kids,” Quattrini said. “She was kind of at the forefront every single time.”

Superintendent Anna Nolin said in a statement last week that Fitzgerald was a “fierce advocate” for her colleagues and students.

“Chrysolite Fitzgerald was a dedicated educator and a tireless advocate for all students. She built meaningful relationships throughout the Newton South community and cared deeply about ensuring every student felt seen, supported and valued,” Nolin said. “Beyond the classroom, Chrysolite was an active member of our school community, often lending her voice and perspective in countless conversations focused on improving the district and ensuring representation from many perspectives and identities … She will be deeply missed.”

Donati said that Fitzgerald managed to find positivity in everything, even when she was having a rough day.

“​​Everyone keeps saying her name was so perfect because she was a light,” she said. “She was just so joyful and free.”