9/11 first responder Luis Alvarez to be laid to rest Wednesday

Luis Alvarez, the 9/11 first responder who died less than a month after testifying before Congress alongside comedian Jon Stewart, will be laid to rest Wednesday.

The former NYPD detective died Saturday after a 3-year battle with colon cancer. A wake will be held in Long Island on Tuesday before the funeral service on Wednesday, NBC4 reported.

Alvarez spent months digging through rubble after the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001. Throughout his illness, Alvarez lobbied Congress to extend funding for the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, which provides funding for medical care for first responders who contracted deadly illnesses from their work following 9/11.

{mosads}In June, Alvarez testified on Capitol Hill alongside Stewart, telling lawmakers it was their turn to serve first responders. Alvarez was later transferred to hospice care, where he continued to speak out urging lawmakers to approve the funding.

“We did the right thing when we went down there,” Alvarez told Fox News last month of his trip to Washington, D.C. “Now it’s the government’s turn to do the right thing by us.”

Alvarez said he hoped his legacy would be never quitting, even after he entered hospice care.

“I will not stand by and watch as my friends with cancer from 9/11 like me are valued less than anyone else because of when they get sick,” he said. “[Congress] made me come here the day before my 69th round of chemo. I’m going to make sure that you never forget to take care of the 9/11 responders,” he told an NBC News affiliate.

In lieu of flowers, Alvarez’s family has requested donations to charities like St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Kids Need More and FealGood Foundation, according to NBC4.

“The Alvarez Family greatly appreciates the respect and outpouring of love and sympathy that has been shown for them in honor or Lou,” family representative Matt McCauley said.