The Hudson Valley man who served as the inspiration for the Ice Bucket Challenge passed away on Saturday.

Anthony Senerchia Jr. lived with ALS for 14 years after being diagnosed with the disease in 2003. According to The Journal News, Senerchia found out he was stricken with Lou Gehrig's Disease not long after marrying his long time girlfriend.

While battling ALS, Senerchia founded the Anthony Senerchia Jr. ALS Charitable Foundation, which raises funds for research and helps families who are fighting the disease.

Back in 2014, professional golfer Chris Kennedy,was challenged by a fan to dump a bucket of water on his head. At the time the Ice Bucket Challenge wasn't associated with ALS, but Kennedy's wife happened to be the cousin of Senerchia's wife, so he chose to use the opportunity to spread the word about ALS. According to TIME magazine, this is when the Internet craze began.

After that first ice bucket was dumped for Senerchia, the challenge took off. The world's biggest celebrities participated as well as millions of other Internet users, netting over $115 million in donations to ALS research.

Senerchia was 46 years old when he passed away this weekend. Services will be held for the Pelham man in Westchester, where he lived with his family.

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