PORTERSVILLE - There will be no classes Friday at Portersville Christian School as students and faculty take the time to remember a senior who died suddenly Monday evening during a soccer game.

Shawn Slater, 18, son of Alan and Alberta of Prospect, collapsed while on the sidelines of a soccer game at the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf.

The Rev. Michael Charles, a Bible teacher at Portersville Christian, said Slater had played earlier in the game, which had gone into double overtime.

Shawn's mother, who had not attended the game, was told her son said he felt like he was about to faint, but said so with a smile, leading others to believe he was joking.

However, soon after that, he collapsed, and the coach performed CPR until an ambulance arrived.

While still at the field, emergency personnel inserted a breathing tube in Shawn and were able to restore his pulse before rushing him to UPMC Shadyside, his mother said this morning.

However, doctors there were unable to maintain Shawn's erratic heartbeat.

Though he had never had previous health problems playing sports or working on his family's farm, his mother said he was prescribed an inhaler for asthma at the beginning of soccer practices this year.

She noted, however, that several of Shawn's uncles had died young, and they had discussed the possibility that trait would be passed on.

"And he said 'Mom, I want to be with Jesus. That's the ultimate,'" she said this morning.

An autopsy was performed to determine the cause of death. Shawn's mother said she is still awaiting the results.

The Slaters, who had received a telephone call from the team's bus driver when their son collapsed, headed right for the hospital. There they spent their last moments with their son.

"I said goodbye to him, holding his hand, telling him that he'd reached the ultimate," said his mother.

At the soccer field, the school staff and family members of the players were on hand to console students who were yet unaware that Slater had died.

"Our student body is devastated and the soccer team is very crushed," said Don Rhoten, superintendent for the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf.

On Tuesday, students at Portersville Christian School gathered to share memories in small group discussions led by pastors and family members of school students, Charles said.

Members of the senior class attended a two-hour service in his memory.

At the School for the Deaf, discussions have also been held and students who live there have been given the opportunity to call their families.

Classes are cancelled at Portersville Christian on Friday to give students and staff the opportunity to attend funeral services at Portersville Bible Church.

According to Charles, Shawn was an active student, participating in basketball, soccer and several school plays.

"He was just a very dear young man who was loved by all," he said.

"Our family and my heart especially feels that God has used Shawn and his heart, his life, his smile to bind his classmates (together)," said Alberta.

"I call it his life legacy, his job with God has been completed."

His obituary is on

Page 6

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