Andrew Wall, a former Annapolis High School wrestler who graduated in 2005, died this week. A funeral service will be held Saturday at St. Mary's Church, 113 Duke of Gloucester St., Annapolis, at 9 a.m.

His life's story was short -- he just turned 23 last Saturday -- but over those limited years he seemed to have made lasting impressions on everyone he met. More than 22,000 messages from family and friends at his Caringbridge.org website attest to that.

Wall had been an active, healthy young man until one day about six months ago when he collapsed while working in a field at an organic farm in Makawao, Hawaii. He was rushed to the hospital and found to have a brain tumor. He was returned to Maryland and had been in the care of his family in Annapolis since.

"I heard and his former teammates, who were some of his best friends, heard when it happened," said Tom Sfakiyanudis, who coached wrestling for 10 years at Annapolis High, including those years when Wall competed. "It has hit everyone around here pretty hard. He had a lot of close friends on the team and they were all keeping in touch through the entire ordeal."

Sfakiyanudis described Wall as "a wonderful kid", who didn't start wrestling until high school but worked hard in practice to excel.

"Andrew worked his way up quickly," Sfakiyanudis said. "I remember he won us a big match his junior year when he was wrestling at 171 pounds. We were competing against Broadneck and it came down to his match. He pinned the guy to win us the whole match."

Messages at Caringbridge.org come from friends he had made at age 7, from ICU nurses who took care of him in Hawaii after he collapsed, from the Severn women's rugby organization, from Mount St. Mary's rugby captain and a classmate, from friends in California, Texas and Utah, from friends he made three years ago on a United Kingdom study trip. They come from his former teachers at the Mount, from families of his former wrestling teammates and from the family whose farm he lived and worked on in Hawaii, who say he made such an impression on them they are building a memorial on the farm to him.

All of those messengers, first expressing support for his recovery and then sympathy and compassion at his loss, all talk about a young man who was kind and caring, patient, thoughtful, genuine, and a "lover of all things food."

They talk about his huge smile, his king-sized hugs and his gentleness.

And all of them talk about the impression he made on their lives and how much they'll miss him.

A wonderful legacy for his family, now saddened by his loss, to remember.