DENVER, N.C. — A popular Lincoln Charter School physical education teacher and coach died Sunday after being hospitalized with COVID-19.
Jamie Seitz's death came just hours after students and staff held a prayer vigil at the school's Denver campus Sunday afternoon.
Seitz coached golf and basketball at the school and taught physical education to all grade levels at Lincoln Charter School for more than a decade.
Joshua Williams taught physical education alongside Seitz and looked up to him as an older brother.
"The man's heart was as big as all outdoors," Williams said. "Every time you saw him, it was a smile on his face and he had good words."
Williams said Coach Seitz contracted COVID-19 a few weeks after Thanksgiving.
The community has organized an event to remember Coach Seitz. A candle light vigil is scheduled for Wednesday night at the school's Denver campus.
The vigil will take place in the parking lot at 5 p.m. and people are asked to stay inside their cars. The service will be broadcast over the radio.
Seitz's COVID-19 diagnosis came around the same time Lincoln Charter School's Denver campus experienced a sudden spike in COVID-19 cases.
Chief Administrator Jonathan Bryant called for an emergency school board meeting on December 11 to discuss the rise in cases.
"Thanksgiving break, traveling, seeing family, get-togethers, etc., is a key factor in many of the positives that we're seeing," Bryant said at the meeting.
The board ultimately voted to move classes online until January 11, 2021.
When kids do return, Williams said there will be a void in the school's hallways.
"You don't replace a Jamie Seitz," Williams said. "You hope you can find someone to fill a spot, but you can never replace Jamie Seitz."
Lincoln Charter School released the following statement on Seitz's death:
"The entire Lincoln Charter community extends its deepest sympathies to the Seitz family. Jamie Seitz worked at Lincoln Charter since 2009; serving as a PE teacher (at the Denver campus) and a golf and basketball coach. Coach Seitz will be missed by his entire LCS family. Counselors are being made available to staff and students who need support during this difficult time. An event to honor Coach Seitz will be held at a later date, details are TBD."