After graduating from Willow Glen High School in 2001, Edwards attended De Anza College in Cupertino for one year. She then transferred to Saddleback Junior College in Tustin, Calif., where she was studying criminal psychology. She wanted to become a crime scene investigator profiler.

She also had a pharmacy technician license and was working as a pharmacy technician for Longs Drugs. While she worked at Longs Drugs on Foxworthy and Cherry avenues her customers "came to refer to her as a ray of sunshine because she always had a smile to share with everyone," says her aunt, Sue Parisi.

In December of last year, Edwards began to feel ill, says Parisi, who was the boys varsity soccer coach at Willow Glen High School for five years.

Nine days before Christmas, Edwards had emergency surgery because she had an "extremely rare, aggressive form of ovarian cancer," Parisi says.

Edwards moved back to her parents' house in San Jose with her fiancé a few days before Christmas.

After Christmas, more tumors were discovered, and a CAT scan revealed cancer was in her lymph nodes. Her body did not respond to chemotherapy, Parisi says.

She was told on April 4 that she had, at best, a few weeks to live.

"I've lost my grandparents, but they lived a full life," says Parisi, who helped take care of her nieces and nephews, including Edwards while she was growing up. "It's very hard to lose a child."

Edwards had planned to get married June 29.

"She was very positive and never said, 'Why is this happening to me?' " Parisi says. "She made it easier for everyone."

More than 400 people attended her memorial service, including teachers and former and current high school students.

Edward's high school friend Max Knies remembers her positive spirit.

"She was always happy to see you," Knies says. "She always smiled. Her big thing was to always be the person smiling in high school."

Edwards also was part of the muscle car club.

"Her ex-boyfriend used to drive her down to Santa Cruz in his 1969 Camaro, and she'd always want him to have the top down," Knies says.

The memorial service brought alumni together. Knies says he saw friends he hadn't seen in a couple of years, and "it wasn't for a good reason, but it's what Niki would've wanted."