Funeral Today for Roswell Native Killed in Midtown Shooting

Friends and family will gather today to celebrate the life of an "always positive, always upbeat" 26-year-old woman who was killed in a  last Friday in Midtown. 

The funeral service for Brittney Watts is set for 10 a.m. Tuesday at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Alpharetta. 

A native of Roswell, Watts graduated from the University of Georgia in 2007 with a degree in advertising. She recently moved back to Atlanta with her husband, Brian, when her company 22squared transferred her to their Midtown office.

It was there at The Proscenium building where she was gunned down in the parking garage last week. Police have charged a security guard, Nkosi Thandiwe, 22, with murder in her death. 

 if Watts was targeted or a random victim as people mourn the loss of a woman friends say warmed the world with her smile.  

"She was a wonderful person," said retired teacher Marianne Raker, who taught at Roswell High School for 30 years. Watts, a 2003 grad of Roswell High, was an "amazing student" that Raker taught home economics to her senior year of high school. 

"She was just very team-orientated ... always positive, always upbeat."

According to her family, Watts enjoyed photography and spending time with her loved ones. She blogged often about her life and described herself as someone "skilled in no particular area, but striving to always do my best work." 

Her family said the young woman was an ambitious professional with a love for life. 

"Brittney's bright smile and cheerful nature touched so many people's lives," her family wrote in her obituary. 

Raker said she will never forget how Watt's smile would warm the room.

"That's what everyone keeps talking about ... what a beautiful smile she had," Raker said. 

In lieu of flowers, her family asks that donations be made in Watts' name to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Georgia Organics.