Friends and family honor Brother Rice’s Andrew Weishar

Friends and family of former Brother Rice football standout Andrew A. Weishar were set to gather Monday afternoon to celebrate his life.

Weishar, 21, of Midlothian, died Thursday after a two-year battle with colorectal cancer. He is survived by his brothers Danny and Nic as well as his parents Jean and Don Weishar.

Weishar’s wake was held Monday at Brother Rice High School, 10001 South Pulaski Road, Chicago.

He graduated from the school in 2009 and played offensive line for the school’s football team. A scholar, Weisher maintained a 4.0 grade point average, graduated in the top 40 of his class, and was an Illinois State Scholar.

Weishar was also a SouthtownStar all-area honorable mention and helped lead the Brother Rice crusaders to a 9-3 record, losing to Hinsdale Central High School in a Class 8A quarterfinal his senior year. He was also captain of the school’s basketball team.

Weishar comes from an athletic family. Jean played volleyball at Northwestern University, Danny plays volleyball at Loyola university and Nic, a wide reciever for the Marist High School varsity football team, had 13 catches for 128 yards after his death.Upon graduating, he went to Illinois Wesleyan University where he played defensive tackle and studied accounting. Freshman year, Weisher underwent a colonoscopy and received his diagnosis in April 2010.

He fought the disease, undergoing chemotherapy treatments and surgery. Weishar returned to the school and the football team his sophomore year as a student coach.

In July 2012, Weishar and his team — Running and Walking for Andrew — participated in Tinley Park’s Get Your Rear in Gear 5k, a colon cancer benefit. More than 200 people joined the team, raising a total of $4,868, far above the goal set at $250.

Friends and family took to Twitter to memorialize Weishar, using the hashtag #weish4more to note posts about him. Former American Idol contestant and longtime Chicago southsider Chris Medina chimed in.

“My heart weeps for the family of Andrew Weisher!” Medina wrote in a tweet. “Your strength is boundless! I will try to trend #Weish4More but can’t do it alone!”

His funeral mass will be held at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at St. Damian Church, 5250 W. 155th St. Internment will follow at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery. School will be cancelled for Brother Rice students on Tuesday so that they could attend the funeral.