Gainesville High School principal Chris Mance died Sunday morning at Northeast Georgia Medical Center after a brief battle with esophageal cancer. He was 50.“It is a tremendous loss for all of us in Gainesville, not just for Gainesville High School but our community,” Superintendent Merrianne Dyer said. “Our prayers are with his family and friends.”She went on to say, “We were grateful for the time we had with him and he will be missed.”In a written statement, Dyer said that “all who encountered Chris realized and admired his honesty, strength, courage, professionalism and undisputed love of our students and for Gainesville High.“Undoubtedly, and unabashedly, Chris was the spirit of the Red Elephant nation.”A candlelight vigil remembering Mance is set for 7:30 tonight at “The Rock,” an iconic boulder that Gainesville High uses for spray-painted messages.