Rep.John Lewis, a Pike County, Alabama, native who became a lifelong champion for justice, will lie in rest during a memorial service at Troy University on Saturday, July 25.

Lewis’s family will celebrate his life and legacy with a service inside Trojan Arena starting at 10 a.m. In accord with social distance guidelines, there will be a limited amount of seating available for members of the public to attend. Approximately 800 tickets will be given out at the entrance of public parking across from the Trojan Center on a first-come, first-served basis starting at 8 a.m.

Following the service, members of the community can pay their respects to Lewis during a public viewing from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Visitors to the arena must wear a face-covering and adhere to social distance protocols at all time.

“John Lewis helped change the history of America,” said Troy University Chancellor Dr. Jack Hawkins, Jr. “His focus on justice for all was a rallying cry for the ages. He was a good man with a loving heart, and he will be missed.”

The service will be streamed live on Troy University’s Facebook page, facebook.com/troyuniversity, and on TROY’s YouTube channel at youtube.com/troyuni, and will be aired live on the TROY TrojanVision cable channel.

Lewis was born the son of sharecroppers on February 21, 1940, outside of Troy, Alabama.  He grew up on his family’s farm and attended segregated public schools in Pike County.  As a young boy, he was inspired by the activism surrounding the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the words of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., which he heard on radio broadcasts.  In those pivotal moments, he made a decision to become a part of the Civil Rights Movement and he became a vanguard of progressive social movements and the human rights struggle in the United States.