SHANNON, Miss. (WTVA) – A candlelight vigil occurred at Shannon High School on Thursday as family, friends, and the Shannon school body continue to mourn the loss of a teacher and friend.

Emotions were running high at Shannon High School on Thursday. Of all the things people at the vigil said they will miss about Summer Bradley, the thing they said they’ll miss most of all will be her smile.

“She wasn’t just my friend... She was my sister in Christ,” one emotional speaker at the vigil said.

“It’s been pretty rough, it was just so unexpected,” friend and special education teacher Leigh George said.

George said she and Summer Bradley started working at Shannon High on the same day ten years ago. their friendship blossomed in that time, and Bradley’s love for her students did not go unnoticed.

“She went above and beyond for our students. She would take them to get their driver’s license, she drove them on the school bust to take their ACT,” George said.

George said the school has good counselors on-site, and is doing fairly well in coping right now. she added Bradley encouraged students unlike any other.

“She’s just gone above and beyond what a lot of teachers would.”

Shannon School would not comment on a cause of death, but the county coroner said it was nothing suspicious.

One speaker at Thursday’s vigil was Assistant Principal Barabbas Leasy. Rather than mourn, he said the vigil had a different purpose.

“Tonight, we are here to celebrate the life of Summer Bradley,” Leasy said.

However, he added Bradley’s loss is still surreal.

“This was a, uh, sudden thing for us, and it’s something that we’re still trying to wrap our heads around,” Leasy said, “but at the same time, we know that God’s purpose is always higher, and we just appreciate the fact that we were able to share some time with Miss Bradley while she was here with us.”

“She will not be missed because we know that her spirit is where it needs to be right now, but we love her, and we know that she still loves us,” Leasy said.

Her friends, family, and the lives she touched will remember Summer Bradley and the lessons she taught about kindness for a long time to come.

“We’re gonna miss Summer, and it’s really gonna be missing her smile, and the emptiness of her position,” George said.

A spokesperson for Lee County School district posted an update to Facebook. it said visitation is at Agnew & Sons’ Funeral Home in Verona on September 18TH from 4 PM TO 7 PM, and graveside service is at Porter’s Cemetery in Tupelo on September 19th at 2 PM.