Family of ‘Captain America' Fan Who Died Battling Cancer Starts Scholarship Fund in Son's Name

The family of Ryan Wilcox, a local teenager who lost his battle to cancer last year, has started a scholarship fund to honor their son's strength. 

Ryan would have turned 19-years-old on March 3—the same day his family launched the campaign to raise money for the Ryan Wilcox Memorial Scholarship.

He died on Sept. 3, 2016.

Then 18-years-old, Ryan's battle with cancer made headlines when his classmates posted a plea on Facebook to get the attention of his favorite superheros from the "Captain America" films. 

Ryan received a surprise visit from Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Patrow, who portray, in order, Captain America, Iron Man and Pepper Potts. 

View this post on Instagram

Hey @robertdowneyjr and #chrisevans, want to take a road trip? I will drive you guys down. #Repost @hizrarejwl with @repostapp. ・・・ This is Ryan Wilcox, he's an 18 year old guy from San Diego battling cancer and he absolutely LOVES Captain America and the Avengers and what we want for Ryan if possible is to meet the actors and actresses of the Avengers, especially Chris Evans who plays Captain America. He isnt doing too well and this would be a major way to boost his spirits and quite frankly be the best moment of his life if he literally got to meet his hero! Please share this to help get the attention of Chris, Robert, Scarlett, and the rest of the Avengers cast and try to make his dream come true! ‪#chrisevans #avengers #makeawish

A post shared by Gwyneth Paltrow (@gwynethpaltrow) on May 7, 2016 at 1:06pm PDT

NBC 7 spoke with Ryan's mother on Tuesday, who spoke of the day students at Grossmont High School rallied in honor of her son in May, 2016.

During that rally, students dressed up in Captain America garb and held a banner that read: "#RyanStrong".

"Being in that gym that day, surrounding by all of that love, it was powerful," said Amy Wilcox.

Wilcox said the scholarship will target students who exemplifies Ryan's fighting spirit.

"It'll be a student that exemplifies that same spirit, that has to overcome maybe a challenge in their life and how they deal with that challenge, and just to never give up," Wilcox told NBC 7.

She added that Ryan's death has been hard for the family but she is proud of her son.

"He never ever complained. He never let anything bring him down, he was always positive," she said. "He taught us so much about the strength of the human spirit and how powerful love can be."

The family has set up an online fundraiser to raise up to $19,000 for the scholarship. The Grossmont Education Foundation will then award $1,000 scholarships in Ryan's name to two students every year.