Johnson students and teachers are organizing the vigil in the Johnson High School parking lot near the flagpole.

"Anyone who wants to come and share and join us in prayer for Mike Adcock and his family are invited," said Johnson teacher Gina Caston.

"He was very loved and will be very missed by everybody," she said. "We just wanted to do something to reach out to the community, to friends, to staff and students - all the lives coach Adcock touched. He has a lot of lives he has touched throughout the years, and I think people want to show how much he meant to us all these years."

Adcock had served as a coach and educator in local schools for 27 years. He died at his home Wednesday afternoon.

In August, Adcock was involved in a serious one-car accident on his way to school and had been slowly recovering.

The assistant principal was at Johnson High School on Wednesday morning for the last teacher work day of the school year, said Hall County schools spokesman Gordon Higgins.

Adcock previously worked at Flowery Branch High School as a boys basketball and graduation coach and at West Hall High School as a basketball coach. He also served at Rabun County High School between his stints at West Hall and Flowery Branch high schools, Higgins said.

Johnson rising junior Mark Pettitt spearheaded tonight's vigil.

"I got a lot of text messages yesterday from folks who wanted to do something for him," Pettitt said. "He was just a great guy. He really impacted the lives of every student here."

Pettitt, who started a Facebook prayer group for Adcock in August after the car accident, said he will miss Adcock's "glow."

"He really helped everybody out. He knew every child had a different case and he really listened and got to know the individual," Petttitt said.

Adcock is survived by his wife, Linda Adcock, who teaches at Spout Springs Elementary; his son, David Adcock, who just finished his first year as a special education teacher at Johnson High School; and his daughter, Beth Adcock, who was a senior at Piedmont College this spring.

Visitation will take place on Friday at Memorial Park South in Flowery Branch. Times will be announced. A memorial service will be held Saturday, May 30, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. at Blackshear Place Baptist Church in Oakwood. More details will be released soon.