PORTAGE | Even as she waged her own fight against cancer, Faith Johnson was planning ahead to the day when she was well and would be able to help others facing the disease.

She didn't get the chance. She died Nov. 27, about a year after being diagnosed with soft tissue sarcoma.

Students and staff members at Central Elementary School, where Johnson was a teacher's assistant for nearly a decade, are picking up the baton with their participation in this year's Portage Relay for Life. The event, an overnight fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, will be held June 6 and 7 at Willowcreek Middle School, 5962 Central Ave. The theme is "On your Mark. Get Set. Cure!"

"Our school has always been a strong supporter for Relay for Life," said Connie King, who teaches third grade. "This year, it has touched our hearts even more because of Faith."

They've already started raising money for their Relay for Life team. On the 100th day of school, students and staff members brought in 100 pennies each, raising about $450. This week, students paid 25 cents to pick a plastic Valentine heart from a bin and to pick prizes from "The Heart Cart." In the first two days, the plastic hearts brought in about $600. Organizers expect to raise at least $1,000 from "The Heart Cart."

Besides participating in the Portage Relay for Life, some of the school's employees plan to take part in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer on May 31 and June 1, said Becky Curry, second-grade teacher. Johnson had been Curry's assistant for at least seven years before her death.

Johnson didn't have breast cancer, but a portion of the proceeds will go to Northwestern Memorial Hospital where she was treated.

"I laugh and say she was my work husband, but she became so much more than that. She was my friend," Curry said. "She was just one of the most giving people you could ever meet. She always thought of herself last."

Johnson worked at the school until two weeks before her death.

"She was fine. The treatment seemed to be working," Curry said. "It was a shock to everybody (when she died)."

Many of the second-graders were among the hundreds of mourners who attended Johnson's wake and funeral, Curry said. During her illness, Johnson's school friends sold orange and green fundraising Faithful Friend bracelets. The students still have them.

"They miss her, and we talk about her," Curry said.

Lots of Central folks miss the woman Debbie Eason describes as "just a very special person." Eason supervises lunch and recess at the school and was a friend to Johnson.

"She was awesome," Eason said. "She had a great outlook on life."

In the spring, the school's garden club will plant a tree in Johnson's honor. A page in the annual yearbook will be dedicated to her memory.

"She fought to the end, and she wasn't ready to go," Curry said.