BEAVER, Pa. -- Tearful classmates attended a visitation for John Challis, the teenager who touched so many lives in the Pittsburgh area and beyond while battling cancer.

"Everyone's idol," Alysha Avery said. "All the little kids looked up to John, just because he had that demeanor about himself to just push through."

Visitation for the recent Freedom Area High School graduate was held Thursday at Noll Funeral Home on Third Street. It will be held again on Friday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Pittsburgh Penguins owner Mario Lemieux sent flowers that sit behind Challis' casket. He met the 18-year-old during a Pens-Flyers playoff game in May, when Challis was a guest in his private box at Mellon Arena.

A plant from New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez came with a card that said, "My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. John was a wonderful kid and I'll treasure the time I spent with him."

Challis met Rodriguez when the Yankees played the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park in June. A few weeks later, the two hung out together in New York and toured Yankee Stadium.

Challis died Tuesday at home with his family in Freedom, Beaver County. He had fought his terminal illness since age 16. (Read The Story)

In lieu of more flowers, the family asks for donations to the Courage for Life Foundation, which Challis started before he died.

A funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Saints Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church in Beaver.

Challis will be laid to rest in his Freedom Area High School football jersey and letter jacket, along with the baseball cap he wore during a pinch-hit line drive that caught the attention of national media.

Freedom Area baseball coach Steve Wetzel, who allowed Challis to have that now-famous at-bat during a game, said Challis was supposed to be in his wedding.

As it became clear he wouldn't survive to see the ceremony, Challis told him, "I won't be in the church but I'll be there in spirit," Wetzel said.

"In his casket with him, he has a letter from his sister that his sister wrote, and to me, that's the most powerful thing of all," Freedom Area baseball coach Steve Wetzel said. "John's name will live on forever. I know at least around here, through me, it's going to."

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Earlier this year, Challis was named HighSchoolPlaybook.com's Student-Athlete of the Week. You can watch the video of his award presentation below.

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