Anthony Senerchia Jr., the individual diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) who inspired the popular "ALS Ice Bucket Challenge" on social media, died Nov. 25 at the age of 46, according to an obituary published by the Pelham (N.Y.) Funeral Home.
Mr. Senerchia was diagnosed with ALS in 2003 and survived 10 years longer than his physicians' initial prognosis.
Following his diagnosis, Mr. Senerchia established the ALS Charitable Foundation, which made substantial donations to New York City-based NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia Medical Center for ALS research.
His family said Mr. Senerchia worked tirelessly to raise awareness about the condition, and that he was directly responsible for creating the ice bucket challenge, which raised $200 million-plus for ALS research. The original bucket used by Mr. Senerchia's wife, Jeanette, was inducted into the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History in 2016.
Mr. Senerchia attended the State University of New York at Delhi for two years before transferring and spending four years at Riverdale, N.Y.-based Manhattan College, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering.
He worked as an engineer at Tri-Star Construction in New York City before starting his own general contracting business.
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